Know God, No Peace
Universal Sign Records
Even if you've never heard of Three Sixes, The packaging of their full length Know God, No Peace would be enough to interest you in them. The promotional copy mailed to me by frontman Damien LaVey (who I interviewed earlier for this blog) is packaged in a mockup of the bible, comes with a poster and lyric sheet and includes a biography describing the making of the album, their influences, bands they've performed with et cetera. Plus another surprise or two. If you expect an album with the same sound in every song, what you get is an album of eclectic influences from goth to thrash metal to black metal to techno to industrial to hardcore to rap. The fifteen tracks justify the careful thought and planning that went into the packaging, and there's a professionalism that's self-evident from the first track onward. From the printed lyrics appearing on the liner notes, it becomes obvious the band isn’t spewing blasphemy for its own sake, but presenting well considered allegories of how religion is used as a weapon and has been throughout history. Look at the hatred the Westboro Baptist Church spews and the increasing number of Catholic priests offering less than favorable methods of spreading their beliefs in the media. There is admittedly a certain amount of anger directed at this. But there are valid reasons for it, as opposed to the stereotypical sacrilege often associated with metal. The best part of this CD is its sense of mystery, as you wonder what direction it will take next. A cover of AC/DC’s Thunderstruck is included here with effects giving it an entirely new dimension. -Dave Wolff