CD, Sonic Mainline, 2008
www.everythinggoescold.com
Looking at Eric Gottesman’s ‘musical curriculum’ it certainly seems that he’s been around a bit and seen the world. He’s a former member of industrial/metal crossover band Psyclon Nine, Deathline International, industrial comedy act See Colin Slash and has collaborated with some relevant names of the North American scene. He also was instrumental in the release of the industrial inside-joke compilation “Deathkey – Songs In The Key Of Death.” “Prepare To Be Refrigerated” is the first release of his tongue-in-cheek industrial rock/metal project, Everything Goes Cold.
While Everything Goes Cold is effectively a comedy act, it is by no means a joke. The lyrics may be anything but serious (the title of the opening track, “I’ve Sold Your Organs On The Black Market To Finance The Purchase Of A Minivan,” should be indication enough…) and the themes scream “cartoon” and “geek” to the four winds, but the musical delivery is dead serious. Eric Gottesman has the musical experience and talent to deliver a downright engaging slab of fusion industrial and rock/metal, which, despite not being particularly innovative, is rather well achieved and sounds genuine. In short, “Prepare To Be Refrigerated” is the kind of release that proves that there is no such thing as a ‘dated’ genre as long as there is real talent working on it. The influence of well-known acts like Ministry and Nine Inch Nails is obviously felt in this release, as is that of other lesser-known artists like 16 Volt, Chemlab and perhaps even Cat Rapes Dog (at least in attitude).
Despite the tongue-in-cheek approach and displayed music skill, four tracks (and a spacer) may seem insufficient to many listeners. To beef up “Prepare To Be Refrigerated,” Eric Gottesman recruited quite a few names from the industrial underground for remixing duty – names that range from newcomers such as Panic Lift to veterans like Babyland and Hate Dept., and through artists like Caustic and Dismantled. While providing variation, many of these ‘just’ added some of their own sound rather than twisting the already high-voltage original tracks into something effectively new. In the middle of this, Babyland’s excellent electro mix of “Fail” stands in stark contrast with the other remixes (and with the originals as well), while Off_Ocus’ may seem like a somewhat pointless exercise.
A solid and rather enjoyable release, “Prepare To Be Refrigerated” seems to suffer from a certain repetition, with not enough original tracks and many remixes of those same tracks. One possible solution to this could have been having other (unreleased) tracks remixed, which, while lacking comparison with the originals, would add some lyrical variety and (who knows?) perhaps even hint at future releases.
[7/10]
— Miguel de Sousa