Stiff Valentine

Self-proclaimed "industrial metal disco,” the electronic beats, guttural vocals and synthesised guitar riffs of the Loveless EP are clearly the result of many acid trips while spinning White Zombie, Ministry and Butthole Surfers in endless rotation. Slipping between straight-out metal grooves and the occasional downplayed ambient passage and/or chaotic amalgamation of experiments put to an express beat, these six tracks are aggressive yet strangely danceable. The ratio of freaked-out to thrilled is surprisingly in favour of the latter. However, as is the case with most things avant-garde or distinctive, the Loveless EP is something one would need to crave before reaching for. Its best usage is to instigate the upbeat party mode for the PVC-clad masses or the gloom-and-doom metal set. For the more daring, the quick tempos and hammering guitars might instigate the occasional lead foot on particularly clear roadways but overall it lacks the stamp of indelible hooks.