Musical tastes are so subjective. Reviewing music, even more so. I’ve had records I’ve played on, songs I’ve written, compared to bands I’ve never heard of before, much less listened to or ripped off, intentionally or not. So, for all I know, Under Pressure has no idea who Fucked Up is, or if they do, it’s entirely possible the similarities I hear are in no way intentional. But again, reviewing music is mired in subjectivity—we’re all at the mercy of limitations, both the band’s the reviewer’s. And I’m hearing a heavy, heavy tip of the hat to that band on this album; the vocalist sounds remarkably like Pink Eye (or whatever stupid moniker the dude’s going by these days) and the music itself sounds like discarded outtakes from the Epics In Minutes collection, until the final track, “The Last,” which is a slow, simmering dirge remarkably similar to something from Hidden World. I hate to compare one band so rigidly to another (because Under Pressure doesn’t come close to giving me the same spiritual piss-shivers that Fucked Up does) but after listening to Black Bile multiple times, that comparison’s the only one that keeps springing to mind.
–keith (Escape Artist)