The Church of the New Perversion EP |Devils Union Ent./Wormhole Records, 2010| 
1. New Perversion, 2. Anti American Idol, 3. Dig You Like A Grave, 4. Know Your Enemy
Los Angeles based guitar driven bands share many similarities. There is a distinct sound and feel more often than not when you listen to the majority of Californian rock and metal music. This common thread emerges in many albums recorded over the last 30 years by bands like Coal Chamber, Devil Driver, L.A. Guns, Dokken, Guns N' Roses, Hole, Jane's Addiction, L7, Megadeth, Metallica, Methods of Mayhem, Motley Crue, Quiet Riot, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Rage Against The Machine, Ratt, Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, System of A Down, Tool, Van Halen, Warrant, WASP and so on, and so on. Some of the musicians who hail from this region lack self-control and carry themselves with an over-expressive, stereotypical rockstar attitude that crosses over into a subculture of psychologically subconscious artistic expression. Music seems to be the hallowed ground of the Kill City scene, but it may just be that the hot Sun constantly shining over California has mystical properties that improve upon particular forms of creativity and energy.
Skumlove is a band from Los Angeles, so their EP has an expressive nature relative to the Southern Californian sound as well. Their chances at far reaching fame and success are easier in comparison to bands from the East Coast of the United States or other regions of the world since they haunt Hollywood with a sound ahead of its time. Supportive clubs, concert halls and recording studios leave them open to a staggering circle of rockstars and music producers who share in their passion.
The newest EP, The Church of the New Perversion, seems to be a step towards the direction of hard rock. However, you can still hear the echoes of industrial metal vibes. Such traces can be found in the song "New Perversion", which is reminiscent of classic Marilyn Manson with strongly accented choruses. There is also a video for the song which showcases a mixture of both erotic and Catholic content. Some people consider it extremely controversial.
Other songs on the EP like "Anti American Idol", "Dig You Like A Grave" and "Know Your Enemy" are heavily guitar and bass driven compositions in the context of tunes bearing a striking similarity to albums by White Zombie, Static-X, Van Halen and The Union Underground.
Skumlove has procured an overwhelming and faithful fan base that has painstakingly grown throughout the last few years. The new EP contains very hooky and easy to remember choruses as well as a lot of heavy guitar riffs that deliver a rock sound that is uniquely combined with very cool arrangements. The format should be attractive enough to grab even more new fans.
Furthermore, a full new LP from Skumlove is rumored to be released sometime this year and will feature guest appearances of musicians such as Tommy Victor (Prong, Ministry) and Tony Campos (Prong, Ministry, Static-X, Asesino) amongst several other artist who took part in recent recording sessions.
While awaiting the release of this upcoming full length album, consider getting The Church Of The New Perversion EP as a nice introduction to the modified and much heavier sound of Skumlove.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz, 06/28/2010. Proofreading: Scott M. Owens. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
Songs Of Lust and Corrosion [Explicit] |Misfortune Records, 2008| 1. Loaded [Explicit], 2. My Machine [Explicit], 3. Xtc [Explicit], 4. Dysfunctional Doll [Explicit], 5. I Am Your God, 6. Welcome to Hell [Explicit], 7. Break You Down [Explicit], 8. I Come For Your Children [Explicit], 9. Dirty French Machine Remix [Explicit], 10. Godless Remix [Explicit], 11. Dysfunctional Doll Remix [Explicit]
Skumlove's a band out of Hollywood that after years of hard work has landed a deal with Misfortune Records... Skum on vocals, Gina on lead guitar, DB on bass and DJ on drums... make quite a industrial rock/metal quartet.
Skumlove's debut album "Songs of Lust and Corrosion" kicks ass... with its relentless evil/erotic industrial metal music. Skum's vocals and his lyrics are clear and powerful and just as evil/erotic.
The whole album has great songs... but a few are worth extra mention... in Break You Down, Skum lyrics take it step beyond the Stone's Paint It Black... in I Am Your God, Skum beckons you to "worship" him... the Godless Remix has a heavy erotic beat and reitterates Skum's plea in I Am Your God... and to hell with Stranger Danger, look out for Skum when he sings I Come For Your Children!
Skumlove is headed for stardomwith their brand of earcandy... they really got what it takes to make it in the metal world.... Go check out their songs and videos on here, their myspace, youtube and their own website! (Demon Woman)
Songs Of Lust and Corrosion [Explicit] |Misfortune Records, 2008| 
1. Loaded [Explicit], 2. My Machine [Explicit], 3. XTC [Explicit], 4. Dysfunctional Doll [Explicit], 5. I Am Your God, 6. Welcome to Hell [Explicit], 7. Break You Down [Explicit], 8. I Come For Your Children [Explicit], 9. Dirty French Machine Remix [Explicit], 10. Godless Remix [Explicit], 11. Dysfunctional Doll Remix [Explicit]
If you have ever come across Skumlove you may remember their recognizable sounds and image. Possibly you had found them also when looking for music similar to Orgy, Union Underground, Coal Chamber, Marilyn Manson with both alternative and sometimes pop feel.
The CD includes a variety of neatly arranged industrial rock songs recorded through out the last 6 years. Skumlove plays a humanized version of industrial music thanks to strong rock based vocals with no cheap distortion effects so popular around this and a few more music styles.
Seems like everyone could find something interesting on the album. So thus there are danceable songs kind of Loaded or XTC with accent put on synths, drums and catchy refrains but also heavier tracks full of layered guitars putting a claw to the tunes.
I found at least 3 songs my mind turned on to them – I Am Your God, a fusion of guitars, vocals, synths and drums with a lot of dynamics, then I Come For Your Children, much heavier, Manson-like track with underlined bass and backing vocals, more rock than industrial except the synth part in the middle which in fact I didn’t like that much.
The third song I extremely liked is a remix called Godless with a great intro, heavy guitars, deep layered samples, a real flow of energy and stable rhythm of working machine. Both aggressive and danceable reminding songs by KMFDM or Pig. Great alive dynamics indeed.
Besides there's also a darker track called Break You Down and more rock song (Welcome to Hell) with a mixture of guitars and bass in the background plus Ozzy Ozbourne-like vocals. There are two more remixes on the CD besides of Godless.
The strengths of Skumlove are the vocals and guitars. I missed much more accented bass and more powerful drums tho. I wish the CD included more songs like Godless enriched with cool guitar riffs.
The album will be out on July 15th, supported with a release party on July 23rd at Hollywood's Famous (Los Angeles where the band hails from) and followed the U.S. and Canada tours. The video for Dysfunctional Doll can be found at YouTube.
(Katarzyna 'NINa' Górnisiewicz. Must not be used for promotional or commercial purposes. See a Legal Note for the copyrights below)
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