Though not quite Digital Hardcore at its amusing and terrifying best,
EC8OR do at least know how to kick up a big ol' bunch of noise, and
World Beaters doesn't change that view any. Gina D'Orio hits the high level whine/shriek/snarl from the start, and if that's not completely up one's alley, the rest of the album will remain a total chore to get through. Patric C. sometimes steps in on extra chants and choruses, but otherwise lets D'Orio take it to the listener. Where the band succeeds best is the music, and though the combination of f*ck-off beats, distorted riffs, and atypical samples are par for the Digital Hardcore course, every song has at least a certain something to it that catches the ear. Feedback blasts get looped backwards, start-stop rhythms abound, and unintelligible samples kick around deep in the sonic mire, reaching awesome heights on the massive "Part of the Thing," which has an ending that sounds like World War III cutting completely loose. The shorter tracks, some mere seconds long, convey the collapsing, ripped-apart aesthetic better than the full songs, and have the advantage of being pure sonic collage. One interesting diversion arrives via a cover -- "Dirt,"
the Stooges' classic, whose trudging sludge tempo remains the same but with its own mechanized fuzz feel, while D'Orio's take on the lyrics reads new meaning into the song. The two otherwise do little not tackled by
Alec Empire and company, so those satisfied with his work probably don't need to investigate unless they're raving fans of the entire approach and label. Neat lines in some of the song titles, though: "Our Present Is Our Piss," "Until Everything Explodes," and "The Shit You Dig." ~ Ned Raggett