Sometimes, a guy needs to turn his brain switch firmly to the “off” position. While there is no shortage of music to fit such times (pretty sure Judas Priest just released a song called “Metalizer”), there’s something about seeing and hearing it involve the youth of our whole heavy metal thing that makes it extra fun. There was something supremely jolly about seeing a bunch of kids blissfully thrash and dance to Sacrifice’s set at this year’s MDF, just as there is something youthfully charming in hearing Italy’s Children of Technology drop a megaton of unabashed energy on Future Decay.
As their easily-condensed-into-a-three-letter-acronym name would indicate, C.O.T. play largely in the crossover mold, melding thrash, speed, d-beat, and plenty of punk into an extremely lively package. And to get by, Future Decay needs that vitality, because variety is not exactly something that The Children bring in buckets. Sure, you get the speedier material (“Under the Ripping Storm,” with its fun low-end trill) and chunky riffage (“Eaten Dust Overload”) to go with the straightforward Discharge-on-thrash-gas tracks, but for the most part, these 27 minutes are a homogenous bunch.
The success comes through the band’s very obvious enjoyment of their material, exemplified by a nice heap of gang chorus action. But energetic as everything else is – and these Children spend plenty of time munchin’ on energon cubes – the selling point of Future Decay is easily vocalist DeathLörd Astwülf, First of His Name (not really his name). The impression you get is of a guy who did take after take of his vocals in the studio until he was exhausted, only for his bandmates to get him rippin’ drunk and make him do them one more time. This is an out-of-breath, 15-shots-deep kind of performance.
Just put an ear to his performance in the opening title track. The way he yells out “FYYEEEEWWCHAHHH DEEEEEEECAY” is irresistible. (Albeit only the second best pronunciation of “future” in a metal song. This still wins.) The growl, the rambles, the squeals, the lines drawn out in some sort of drunken stupor — you just can’t teach this kind of belligerence.
The increased focus on this vocal fun/ridiculousness, in combination with added heft, means that Future Decay is a (very) slightly different album than its predecessor, It’s Time to Face the Doomsday. In these ways, it’s also an improvement, but don’t go expecting C.O.T. to suddenly drop their have-bulletbelt-will-travel ‘tude in favor of any crazy “innovation.” There’s a historical snapshot mission at work here, and for bands executing it as well as these guys, there will always be an audience. For younger fans experiencing this at just the right period, it’ll be a momentary revelation. For the older among us, it’ll be a rollicking, better-than-pure-nostalgia good time, even if that trait quickly settles into merely the occasional spin.
But occasionally, that brain has to be shut off. So crack open a cold one and try not to kick your coffee table.
