Disjointed Heavy Death
Who listens to music like this? Is there anybody out there who willingly sits down, and puts albums such as Happyface's 'Le Tigre' in their CD player? I've been in to metal for over twenty years and heard a lot of music in that time, however Happyface left me a little baffled. Having given 'Le Tigre' many outings, I am still at a loss as to whether I like it or not.
This is one heavy son-of-a-bitch album and sits far from the death metal played by Children of Bodom and Arch Enemy. This is 'brutal' death metal with its production and delivery similar to bands such as Morbid Angel, Nile and even Meshuggah. Whereas the aforementioned bands use clever, intricate guitar work, Happyface go for sheer brute force. Music that not only will kick your door in, but will opt for a demolition ball to tear the rest of your house down instead. The guitars seem to be tuned to drop 'W,' for their bottom end is extremely potent and powerful, yet at times they are too bass heavy, causing the heavy riffs to muddy together, becoming in-discernable at times. The guttural growlings are also very low, so low that they barely register at times, however they're totally listenable and fit perfectly with the huge huge bottom end. The use of a piccolo snare is a clever move, not only does it slice through the music enabling it to be audible, but it prevents the whole production from getting too messy.
Imagine listening to the first Korn album, down-tuning the guitars a little more, adding some extra bass boom and then asking Glen from Deicide to sing. Hopefully then you'll get a feel for what Happyface are all about. The production doesn't suit the blast-beat passages, which are thankfully kept to a minimum, but on the slower sections and the staccato riffage, the thump of the music really hits you. 'Close the Door' in particular is like an anvil to the head as is 'Jupiter,' however some of the ideas are a little too discordant, unable to flow because of the stop-start nature of the music. The beginning of 'Poudre de Perlinpinpin' is an example of when Happyface get the 'Meshuggah' style right, and when they do it's very effective, but songs such as 'Round Un' and 'Jazzy Night' are a little too disjointed, losing the listen by their sheer dissonance.
I certainly didn't dislike 'Le Tigre,' however I didn't like many aspects of it either, the music left me very cold indeed. The whole experience is agreeable to the heavy palette but it's an acquired taste, perhaps too acquired, certainly too acquired even for even this old metal war-horse. (And I can withstand most heavy music) If you love the extreme side of metal then it may be worth picking up 'Le Tigre,' however a total running time of only twenty-five minutes isn't going to give you much brutality for your buck.