-December Wolves-

If reality is supposedly a state of mind, then it follows that an unsound mind would have a very distorted view of what reality could be. It could literally be anything, no limits, no rules. Such a distortion could produce a tyrant, a murderer, a cop, a Sadist....... someone with total disregard for the conventions and traditions of 'normal' society, someone who viewed the world not through rose-tinted glasses but through eyes full of distrust, malice and suspicion......and revulsion. Boston's December Wolves see the world as a graveyard, a dead place, a place not worth saving in the first place. Their vision is constructed around the surreal worlds of subversive music, underground horror, mind enhancement and paranoia. It has led the band to be equally misinterpreted and exalted, and whilst many people have been left with more questions than answers after encountering the band, there can be no doubt that, whatever their post-December Wolves experience, they can honestly say that there is nothing quite like December Wolves . 'Blasterpiece Theatre' leaves no-one the wiser as to the solutions - December Wolves only cough up the problems; 'Its a tempting world we live in. Its sublime, without treatment or release...A new man, from what we believe to be an excruciation of the truth. SO how many licks does it take?...to get to the bottom of the barrel? Take a lick and see...We have history, you and me' (Public Aquarian Freebase) is typical of an attitude that reeks of the shortcomings of the self and everything around it.

The process of re-constructing December Wolves began with the release of 1998's 'Completely Dehumanized,' an aptly titled album that pulsed with bile and malcontentment, hinting at something special but displaying little of what was to come. The intervening years between that album and the fresh attack that is 'Blasterpiece Theatre' were spent assuming new identities and new options, resulting in guitarist/songwriter Brian morphing into Brian O'Blivion, rhythm guitarist Tim reborn as T. VanDono, and vocalist Devon adopting the title of Smails. Names were not all that changed.

The December Wolves sound, then thrashy and tinged with residues of Black Metal, have now become entwined with a writhing mass of eerie samples, electronic punctures and programmed tempos - whilst still Metal, its an ambitious attempt to broaden out, leaving restrictions behind and embracing elements that can make the terror more real. Lyrically the album is as blunt as it can be, the realism tinged with paranoia and doubt; 'Gut reaction - Unattraction! The problem is I grossly admire an interest inhuman....You see, horrible habits die hard and I'm starting to feel like me again' from 'Kolobos' is typical of an attitude that reeks of the shortcomings of the self and everything around it.

'Blasterpiece Theatre' is an advancement of extremism, and it is also a genuine attempt at something different. From the outset the themes fly in from all angles, the scale of instrumentation is immense and the whole album seems as one long nightmare. Like a collage of dreamscapes the record reeks of blind alleys, coffins being nailed shut and a sense of resigned fate. 'Sharing Needles,' Porn Again Christian,' 'Public Aquarian Freebase' – none of these tracks can be considered remotely conventional, and yet all of them have the quality to lure the unlucky into their murky grip and scare the living shit of them. This is not easy listening - it is a record that would only sit comfortably next to a select bunch of bands who have tried and succeeded to bring something new to the established formula. If you want the easy way out look elsewhere. This is another headspace entirely; 'Make up, deep inside, for malevolent thoughts in your mind. Its a conflict of interest, but it makes the truth easy to find. When the walls are hammering down your case and the prophecies stand inside...Time flying by like you wish you were dead...So hide as well as you can. You'll never be free. How does it feel?