Agents Of Empire

Lluther (yes, Spinal Tap and all as it is, that second ‘l’ is supposed to be there) is the brainchild of ex-Skindive guitarist Gerry Owens, with the other notable member of the line-up being former JJ72 bassist Sarah Fox. Having worked with producers such as Dave Ogilvie (Marilyn Manson), Adrian Sherwood (Ministry) and Scott Humphries (Rob Zombie), Owens is very much positioning Lluther as an industrial rock band, so chances are you know the drill – lots of heavy guitar, pounding drums, goth keyboards, and snarled lyrics along the lines of “I’ll smash you in the face so hard your nose’ll come out your arse”.
In fairness, Owens and co. have clearly put a lot of work into developing their sound, and the energy, imagination and sheer sonic overload in the opening numbers is incredibly refreshing to hear in a homegrown act. For those looking for a reference point, the unrelenting bombardment on tracks like ‘People Is Ugly’, ‘Venus Company’ and ‘American Gods’ is comparable to Broken-era Nine Inch Nails, Depeche Mode at their harshest, or any jackhammers currently being operated by workmen in your area.
Unfortunately, the band lose their way somewhat halfway through, with ‘In Decline’, ‘Fixer’ and ‘Father Of Lies’ straying alarmingly close to Danzig B-side territory; all muddied guitars, shouted vocals and drab rhythms. As industrial pioneer Peter Christopherson once pointed out, a lot of the bands who followed in the wake of Throbbing Gristle made the mistake of thinking that industrial was inextricably bound up with metal. Here, Lluther have made the classic error of ignoring the fact that the leading lights of the genre (certainly commercially), such as NIN and Manson always incorporate an underlying pop sensibility, no matter how severe the musical assault.
Nonetheless, like Seabiscuit in his prime, the group pull away again in the back stretch, with the eerie ambience of ‘Stasis’, the intensity of ‘Show You Mean It’ and the apocalyptic denouement of ‘Disconnect From Me’ making for a strong finish. Lluther need to learn a few more tricks to really stand out from the crowd, but Agent Of Empire certainly makes for a promising beginning.