Perversion
In the wake of Nine Inch Nails' ascent to superstardom, a gaggle of bands usurped at least seven of Trent Reznor's nine inches and crafted catchy electronic metal songs that festered with brooding angst. One of the best of these groups was Gravity Kills, which balanced melody, noise, and grooveability in equal parts. But the band's second disc,Perversion, lacks the immediacy, dynamics, and hooks of theirself-titled debut. The songs are constructed in the same mechanized dance framework, but they don't build and dip in intensity, and they rarely create any atmosphere but radio-static overload. There are a few exceptions. "Wanted" shifts from a jaggedly lumbering surge to a buzz-saw grind, and "Disintegrate" features some compelling drum & bass beats and a pretty decent chorus. Overall, however, Gravity Kills have slipped from their perch and are now nearly indistinguishable from any other bar band with samplers.--Jon Wiederhorn