May 15, 2012 • Ipecac Recordings
So Philm is the new band from Dave Lombardo, who has been all over the map over the decades with his older bands (most notably Slayer and Fantômas). I was never much of a fan of either, but I decided to try Philm out just for kicks to see if it was interesting. I suppose it sort of is, but it's definitely not for me.
As expected, Philm's music runs through a combination of styles—sometimes incorporating heavy-metal-styled blasting, sometimes punk or stoner rock grooving, sometimes psychedelic blues riffing. As I've mentioned probably too many times, it takes a lot of skill to pull off genre stew and make it work. Lombardo may be talented, but I don't think the band quite has what it takes to get it together all of the time.
So for me, something about the songwriting just feels wrong, like it was an album made to test the waters with a specific band and see how it goes. It seems like the songs tread a lot of stoner and alternative rock clichés, when it isn't descending into rambling and bluesy solos. I get the feeling that Philm made the album solely for their own enjoyment and experimentation without taking into account if an audience would enjoy it.
That's not to say that it's necessarily bad. There are more than a few technically interesting and cool bits, such as the plethora of different guitar tones on display and the impressive drumming, not to mention that it can get pretty catchy from time to time. So from a technical standpoint, it's got its positives. Musicians who play similar music can probably appreciate what's being done here.
I'm not really a fan, though, as the album just feels too detached for me to get into. (And I didn't even get a chance to mention the atrocious vocals!)
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