THIS
- out of all possible records - happened to be the first ever "ultra-rare
US private pressing" I added to my collection. What a lousy way to
start. Yes, it was another case of the "misinterpretation-obsession-disappointment-syndrome".
For some reason I thought WAGES OF SIN was this really cool Italian Doom-band.
Eeeeek! That's 4 wrongs out of 3 possible: 1. WOS is not cool,
2. not Italian, 3. not really Doom and 4. (most likely) not a band. Let
me explain that last one a bit further. First of all there's no real drums
on the album, but a horrible, life-sucking, soul-reaping, musically obscene
drum machine. Secondly, and most compromising, Mr. Sant is posing between
two headstones displaying the names Schultz and Keeler, the surnames of
his supposed bandmates - an obvious pun. Furthermore, all songwriting
and lyrical credits go to Eugene Sant, and he is the only one who gets
to write a thanks-list (incidentally consisting of 2 humans and 1 dog).
Finally, naming the record label after himself should be the final circumstantial
evidence that this probably were a pure one-man studio project. Fred and
Bobby are welcome to
contact me to prove me a fool.
...but who cares anyway. If we ignore that appalling beat-box and stale
production for a moment, there's actually a few promising songs in there.
"Satan's Charm" for instance, is a great heavy piece with a
really catchy and powerful chorus. If there's anything resembling doom
on the album, it can be found in songs like "closet killer",
"back from the dead" and "suicide song" - all of them
good songs in some kinda' embryonic WF GENERAL/THE OBSESSED-style. Actually
there's plenty of good ideas here, but they're barely noticeable thanx
to that downright STUPID production!
So, it may look cool, with the heavy cardboard sleeve, the primitive b/w
logo artwork and graveyard shot, but this is nothing but a perfect example
of one of those overrated/overprised privates that got lost in obscurity
for the best of reasons: It shouldn't have been made in the first place.
At least not by Mr. Eugene Sant.