Caustic - I Can't Believe We're Re-Releasing This Crap

I first heard Caustic back when 'Unicorns, Kittens, and Shit' first came out in 2006; I gave it a listen based solely on the track titles; after all, I'm pretty twisted, so I couldn't pass up a chance to hear songs called "Emmanuel Lewis Handjob", "Drag Show Gone Wrong", and "Hitler Ruined that Moustache for Everyone", and I was richly rewarded. Aggressive, noisy, stomping beats and an off-the-beaten-path selection of samples. While other groups were putting together tracks about environmental, social, or economic issues, Caustic's Matt Fanale was putting together tracks about getting a sausage-fingered handjob from Webster. What's not to like?

In 2007, Caustic followed up with 'Booze Up and Riot', and the title track to that album remains one of my favorites to this day. This release contained a fresh batch of destroyed beats and samples, and more ridiculous track titles like "Industrial Moustache Ride" and "All Your Heroes Are Dildoes", with classic stompers like the title track and "Bugchaser" and "Faceplant". By this point, I felt like Caustic was doing for industrial music what The Mentors had done for metal: bringing together a mix of hilariously inappropriate songwriting and dubious production quality into a package that felt and sounded so wrong but so right at the same time. This was dirty, filthy industrial music, and I was sold.

Apparently, I'm not the only one that felt that way, because Caustic's following has grown and last year Caustic found a home on Metropolis Records. Now, Metropolis is re-releasing those first two full length albums along with 10 bonus tracks of material that were previously unreleased and/or just damn difficult to find in the appropriately-titled 'I Can't Believe We're Re-Releasing This Crap'. The two and a half hours of music here bring much of what I like about noisy aggrotech music: driving beats, subtle variations in the layers of sound that keep the music moving, and effective use of sampling. If I have anything negative to say about it, it's that "This Track Will Get Skipped A Lot" is funny exactly once, and that was back when I bought the album the first time. Then again, I suppose I was warned right in the track's title.

The re-released original material is classic Caustic: it's harsh and aggressive, and if you've heard the original releases, you already know what to expect here, including the collaboration tracks with Manufactura, Empusae and Severina X Sol. The bonus material features some great collaborations, too. We have W.A.S.T.E. on "Hard Rollin" (which also features a long sample from "Bad Lieutenant"), and Displacer on "Heart Shaped Mattress of Luv". And I'm glad to report that the bonus material fits right in with the re-release tracks. "Concussive" and "Digital Mangina" are my favorites out of the lot of bonus tracks. Even if you're already a Caustic fan and own the first two albums, 'I Can't Believe We're Releasing This Crap' contains plenty of solid extra bonus material, with all the Caustic twistedness you've come to expect. Play it extra loud to annoy your neighbors, and maybe, just maybe you'll find one who wants an industrial moustache ride. Apr 06 2012