'Aggrotech'. That's a made up word, right? Well, apparently not. It's an industrial sub-genre used to describe a plethora of bands, and Combichrist happen to be one of them. We could argue about genre conventions like lonely little nerds all we like but, fortunately, Combichrist's seventh full-length, 'We Love You', is a beast that transcends such borders and tags.
If We Were Made To Love You, the album’s first song, proves one thing, it’s that Combichrist do not love us. They fucking hate us. Kicking off with a spacey intro before descending into a crunchy, spasmodic mess similar to electronicore crew the Browning – Google it – with a tonne more aggression, it’s clear they are not messing about. Spiteful gang vocals, a filthy sprinkling of dubstep and riffs heavier than King Kong's arse assault the ears, and this is just the beginning.
There's no time to recover from the initial beating that We Were Made To Love You delivers as Andy LaPlegua, the driving force behind Combichrist and a one-man wrecking ball, smashes straight into Every Day Is War.
A stark contrast to its predecessor, it’s the equivalent of Trent Reznor and Al Jourgensen getting pissed up and going to a rave with loads of glo-sticks. The synths hark to the former, while the barks and repetitive riffs render fond memories of the latter.
It truly is tough to categorise Combichrist. Tunes like Can't Control and We Rule The World Motherfuckers sound like Ministry trapped in a university nightclub, yet you've got brooding laments on acoustic and a piano-driven ballad, The Evil In Me. It's a candid track, proving that LaPlegua isn't just hiding behind walls of distortion. His pained vocals here prove to be one of the highlights of the album.
Speaking of highlights, Maggots At The Party is not only the best song Combichrist have ever written, but is also in the running for best song of the year. With enough stomp and swagger to put Rob Zombie to shame, it is a genuine anthem complete with female vocals, synchronised guitars and synths and a stupidly simple, effective chorus. Only the lofty, sprawling Retreat Hell may prove difficult to swallow as its spoken-word passages and miserable, doomy riffs could prove too cumbersome for some.
'We Love You' is not strictly an industrial album, just as it's not a metal album, nor a dance album. It's just great music that works on so many levels. With as much to offer Rob Zombie fans as it does to listeners of Skinny Puppy, Combichrist have finally nailed their formula. Fucking fabulous.
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