Author: Rok Klemše
Artist: Corkscrew
Label: On Parole Productions
Released: 2009
Runtime: 73:31
Rating: 4.5/5
The roots of Kamnik outfit Corkscrew go back to around the turn of the millennium. In their few years together, the guys carried out proper commando raids on stages all across Slovenia and burned themselves into the crowd’s memory as a merciless, no-compromise live experience, topped off with a completely unhinged frontman performance. There was no shortage of bare asses, booze-fueled chaos, and even a microphone turned into a “butt plug”… Their rock-solid gigs earned them everything from winning the YounGunZ tour to a slot at Rock Otočec, plus a nice pile of shows that people who were there still remember today. All that was missing was a proper recording. After two failed attempts at recording, it never happened, countless lineup changes eventually led to the band splitting up and sinking into temporary oblivion. But Corkscrew didn’t leave their debt unpaid. There’s no mercy for our drummers, and this time they proved the old saying that third time’s the charm. Here it is, the (way too) long-awaited debut album, fittingly titled … To Be Continued (Best Off), which justifies the long wait with a whopping 34 tracks and 74 minutes of sonic carnage.
Deep breath… and go! One Fit… is a superb opener that hints at what Corkscrew have in store for the next hour and a quarter. The skeleton of … To Be Continued is built on a modern alternative metal, or “nu-metal” if you like, direction, but Corkscrew aren’t boxed in by a genre that MTV milked to exhaustion and pumped up until it led to a flood of awfully bad bands. Luckily, Corkscrew are miles away from that, building their identity on the groove of Pantera, the modern sound of Korn, the melodies of System of a Down, and the experimental craziness of Faith No More. The influences are more than obvious, but Corkscrew only touch them enough to show respect to the forefathers of modern metal, while the debut is more than obviously packed with dynamic ideas, a sprawling, almost conceptual record structure, technical and instrumental polish, and flawless vocals. The band swings between the schizophrenia of brutal, merciless shredding on one side and, now and then, downright sugary balladry on the other, so despite its hefty length the album doesn’t get boring for a second. Corkscrew haven’t fallen for the trends of low-tuned nu-metal guitars, empty bass thumping, monotonous rhythm sections, and the swapping of pseudo-brutal screaming with the vocal whining of MTV bands… even though they stay within those frames most of the time, with a healthy dose of experimental approaches and daring (balls, to put it plainly), a whole palette of added instruments, vocal escapades, and, putting it mildly, completely fucked-up moments that even the genius Mike Patton wouldn’t be ashamed of in something like Fantomas, they break out of genre ossification and dip into the waters of many styles of metal, pop, rock, electronica, and whatever else. Corkscrew build their chaos on the stormy, wrecking-ball rhythm section of the Kožar brothers: Žiga behind the drums delivers colorful, dynamic drumming full of great transitions and interesting ideas, while Andraž helps him pound away on bass with fantastic lines. Rok carries the battering on with a mighty, massive, distorted guitar tone and heavy riffs. Corkscrew are like a hurricane that one moment ruthlessly flattens everything it has, then settles into dead calm at its center. In the same way, the instrumental trio often shifts in an instant from metal bloodlust into almost jazzy noodling and acoustic lines, but they quickly prove the eye of the storm is small and hit the gas again with hurricane-force winds. Vocalist Jaka sails masterfully over the instrumental lines, delivering an extremely varied vocal performance full of outbursts of uncontrolled rage, mystical whispering, ecstatic and excellent clean singing, and relentless screaming. The core four of Corkscrew are joined on the debut by a whole pack of guests. In the vocal duets, Burger gets into scraps with Ejaq (Almost Rage), Nicky (God Scard), Buda (Elvis Jackson), Robert Šercer (Leaf Fat), beatboxer Murat, and Lara Baruca, while the rhythms get broken up by Peter Dekleva, the excellent Boštjan Gombač (Terra Folk), the tribe of The Stroj, and a heap of others. Every single guest leaves their own mark, and a special one, on the album. Unfortunately, not everything is so rosy; the problem is precisely the hefty length of the album and the huge number of tracks. An hour and a quarter is a big bite to chew, the album loses its red thread at times, individual tracks are a bit hard to remember, and in today’s frantic world such a long record is hard to listen to in one go. Then again, maybe for some people that’s exactly the album’s charm, since it takes quite a while to discover it down to the last detail, if ever, and so you’re forced to keep coming back to that schizophrenic mind and the weird, Corkscrew-style crazy, “Dalí-esque” world of melting clocks, again and again.
… To Be Continued is an excellent, polished, refined record that knows no conformism and doesn’t give in to genre limits or musical trends. It’s a bold album that carries the spirit of the band’s ten years together, the influence of the big bands of the nineties, and continues the legacy of the band’s first incarnation, Kaos d.o.o., as well as the pioneers of Slovenian crossover, SkyTower, Ego Malfunction, Revolver, and others. And last but not least, it’s an ambitious record worth your attention and your time, so it can fully lodge itself in your ear. Let’s hope the Corkscrew story really does continue and we won’t have to wait this long for the next shake-up of our brains and eardrums.
Lineup
Skinner – drums
Rockson – guitar
Burger – vocals
Stockson – bass
Gabriel – piano
GUESTS:
Murat (3)
Jadran Ogrin (26)
Pero Dekleva (1, 9, 31, 32)
Igor Bezget (16, 17)
Miha Petrič (30, 31)
Nicky (8, 16, 17, 24, 34)
Lara B (7, 8, 24, 34)
Buda (32)
Ejaq (1, 2, 3, 8, 12, 13, 14, 22, 24, 34)
Alex (7, 15)
Kado (7, 15)
Robert Šercer (21, 22, 23, 25, 31)
Gregor Kacin-Medle (3, 13, 14, 15)
The Stroj (26)
Boštjan Gombač (2, 15, 17, 25, 30)
Tim Kostrevc (1, 15, 17, 25, 30)
Tomaž O. Rous (26)
Peter Penko (4, 5)
Janez Skobe (26)
Mare Senegačnik (4)
Production
Corkscrew and Gabriel Ogrin
Track list
1.One Fit…
2.…Seizes All
3.Friendly Fire
4.Mortal
5.Los muertes
6.Sane
7.Insane
8.Eternal For the Time Being I (chronophobia)
9.What if… L
10.What if… R
11.Ad pugnam pax inutilis est
12.Violenzia poetica
13.Closer Away
14.Way Closer
15.Lightsuckers
16.Down to Earth Plan of
17.Spontaneous
18.Nuclear Regression
19.Suspended Animation Analysis
20.I Cut My Family While Shaving
21.We Are After Us
22.Orgasmic Antipleasure
23.Mortal (-1)
24.Mortal (-2)
25.Mortal (-3)
26.Eternal For the Time Being II (apeirophobia)
27.Requiem de los vivos
28.Code Black
29.Day in Die Out
30.Individual Though Through Patterns
31.Torn
32.Baar Yezedaayaa
33.Achluophobia
34.Morituri te salutant
