Review: 10,000 Needles – Plastic Idol Predation
Is he alive or dead? Bob Genghis Khan lives again!
So I’ve been gone for a while. It’s true. Two years and some change since my last article. But where have I been? What have I been doing? Well quite frankly that’s none of your business! I’m just here to offer you my shitty opinions on music. Why are those so few and far between lately? BECAUSE I’M A MIDDLE-AGED MAN AND I MOSTLY LISTEN TO PODCASTS NOW! There I said it. Are you happy?! You coaxed it out of me. But sometimes, just sometimes, I listen to music. And when I do, I’m a picky son of a bitch. In fairness, I haven’t always been that way. It’s just that as I’ve gotten older I’ve become more set in my ways, and more exhausted by the modern world. There’s even a word for it. I’m a curmudgeon now! And before you judge me too harshly, I have some ancient words of wisdom imparted by Grandpa Simpson: “It’ll happen to you!”
Now with that out of the way, what have I been listening to? Well it’s a little band I like to call 10,000 Needles. In fact, that’s what the call themselves too! It’s a two piece collaboration, featuring the drummer from the band Torrid Husk. If you’ve never listened to them, I HIGHLY recommend it. And while Torrid Husk may be inactive right now, Tony hasn’t at all lost his chops. More to the point, his blast beats, tight fills, and unique phrasing bring a fresh coat of paint to a genre that often gets oversimplified. Grindy/Slammy death metal sometimes just gets the generic “fast drums” treatment. While that’s certainly present here, it’s never employed in a way that gets stale. The music just doesn’t lend itself to that. Even on the odd chance the guitar stays with a riff for more than a few measures, the drums cruise through what feels like 10,000 different ways to play to it (pun intended).
So what exactly is the guitar doing? Well it’s kind of moving and grooving beyond normal expectations too. It’s frenetic, but catchy at the same time. It’s pretty hard to get bored because the guitarist Zach doesn’t let you sit with anything for very long. Most of the tracks are only around two minutes and filled with enough tremolo picking and pinch harmonics to keep any listener on their toes. However, it’s impossible to ignore that even the most ignorant caveman riffs are often accompanied by thoughtfully-placed and well-executed lead guitar work. My favorite example of this is on the track “Seth Putnam Mains Jigglypuff,” which both exemplifies my point and digs heavily into the theme of the album.
In case you hadn’t picked up on it yet, Plastic Idol Predation is a tribute to both video game culture and metal culture, all at once. The art is very clearly Nintendo-inspired. The sound clips are lovingly and tastefully placed. I’d actually argue that the sound clip work is so artfully done, it becomes an instrument all its own. The growls blend and weave through them seamlessly to the point where it can’t be separated. They create a soundscape that would be fundamentally altered if removed. Bottom line—it keeps things fun! And speaking of fun…
It would be irresponsible for me to talk about this album without bringing up the fact that its physical release is on a pretty unique format. Rather than putting out a CD, tape, or vinyl, 10,000 Needles opted for something a little more on brand: A Nintendo DS Cartridge. Complete with a custom sticker sheet, the tracks are played by inserting the cart into a Nintendo DS. Technically there’s a mini SD card in the cart that makes it all possible, but it’s nonetheless very well packaged. There’s some serious craftsmanship and dedication to the art direction here. The icing on the cake was unveiled to me when I bought it. Try dropping the Konami code and see what happens. To fully access the content you actually have to do it twice, but it’s definitely a cool feature. I have always respected a good theme album, but this level of detail really takes it over the top. I’ve never really seen another band do anything like this. I suspect there aren’t many bands that could.
4/5 Flaming Toilets ov Hell
Plastic Idol Predation is out now through Bandcamp.
