{"id":63201,"date":"2017-03-22T11:00:35","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T16:00:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.toiletovhell.com\/?p=63201"},"modified":"2019-08-20T05:01:40","modified_gmt":"2019-08-20T10:01:40","slug":"the-porcelain-throne-the-red-chord","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/toiletovhell.com\/the-porcelain-throne-the-red-chord\/","title":{"rendered":"The Porcelain Throne: The Red Chord"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Oh, how I really want the boys in The Red Chord<\/strong> to stumble upon\u00a0this article and consider talking to each other about something like, I dunno, brainstorming a few ideas that they’ve each been cooking up on their own. Maybe this will plant a little seed in someone’s\u00a0mind that could potentially grow into some sort of meeting-of-the-minds to rekindle a few of those oh-so fond memories of playing in what happens to be my favorite heavy metal band…PERIOD!<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Younger metalheads arrived to the scene after\u00a0this band was a band and older metalheads might have skipped them because they\u00a0certainly possessed sonic elements that could improperly be labeled “deathcore”. Yes, I know a few of you are shuddering at that thought, but think about this: would your favorite detective have given them the title of\u00a0“favorite metal band” if they were deathcore? Heck no! …Or perhaps you fall within the same generation\u00a0that I do and also stumbled upon this wacky combination that I shall call hardcore-infused deathgrind<\/em>\u00a0(not deathcore).\u00a0From One Robot to Another<\/a>: it’s the Porcelain Throne featuring The Red Chord!<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fused Together In Revolving Doors<\/em> (2002)<\/p>\n

There are death metal riffs, there are grindcore riffs. There are black metal riffs, there are hardcore riffs. The Red Chord is band who, rather than\u00a0create a hybrid of those four sub-genres, perfected a cocktail which contains\u00a0excellent\u00a0riffage from each of them. This is what we might call a “riff salad”, but the highest quality riff salad in the world. Hit play on this album and what you’ll hear in the first second of track number one (“Nihilist<\/a>“) is a spastic Dillinger Escape Plan<\/strong>-like display of chaos. There is no easing into this monster of a debut record, and they were confident enough to start the entire thing without some unnecessary ambient or acoustic introductory track that has become so common these days. There are frequent switches between styles, mainly grindcore and death metal. And while yes, they’ll throw in some hardcore-like transitions (not necessarily breakdowns, but close) I do solemnly swear it’s not deathcore.<\/p>\n

I’m not in love with this album. Many fans are, and a few even claim this one to be their peak, so I give it respect. This is by far their most chaotic record, their must unpredictable — which does say a lot for their level of talent! There are a billion tempo changes on here, many of them more abrupt than necessary; the whole thing feels to me like a band overflowing with potential, who just had to fine-tune what exactly they were trying to do to impact the heavy metal community. FFO: Botch<\/strong>, Dillinger Escape Plan, Napalm Death<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Clients<\/em> (2005)<\/p>\n

This is where I discovered the band. A few years into this album’s release I stumbled upon an hilarious video in which a band member was stealing his friends’ sandwiches and throwing them in the nearest trashcan<\/a>. It was brilliant, as was the music!\u00a0Here was a band that embodied the chaotic nature of old Dillinger Escape Plan but used a hell of a lot more death metal and grindcore riffs. There are a few anthemic vocal\u00a0lines thrown in with just the right amount of melody (not like the sing-songy choruses found in metalcore, mind you), for instance every Red Chord fan will know\u00a0this segment from Antman<\/em>:<\/p>\n

Is this everything you asked for?
\nThis is all I have.
\nIs this everything you asked for?
\nThis is all I am.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

They get weird too, a little progressive even. The band is experimenting with song structure even moreso than before, especially when they incorporate\u00a0a few melodic portions.\u00a0Songs like “Upper Decker” veer into melodic territory, whilst being book-ended by grind riffs. If this was just a run-of-the-mill hardcore-infused deathgrind band, they would be doing a great job on this album, but The Red Chord have crafted something special\u00a0with Clients<\/em>. There are ten extremely well made songs and a final 7+ minute instrumental epic which ends it all on a bittersweet note. It’s a Five\u00a0Flaming Toilet Emoji album for sure, and a difficult one to top.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Prey For Eyes<\/em> (2007)<\/p>\n

…and top Clients<\/em> is exactly what they did. The album starts out with an effects that sounds like vinyl spinning up from resting point and then they hit us right in the face with some breakneck riffing in the minute-long “Film Critiques and Militia Men”. This song bleeds right into “Dread Prevailed” which swaps flirts with metal sub-genres grindcore, sludge, and perhaps some good old fashioned hard rock during the guitar solo – a relatively new ingredient in the band’s recipe. Coming in a track four is the best song of their career, “Send the Death Storm”:<\/p>\n