Sometimes it's better to go with the flow rather than try and emulate something from a bygone era.
Sadly, Electric Eel Shock's ethos is firmly rooted at Donnington Park in 1981 and as Iron Maiden, Saxon, Black Sabbath and the Ramones all veer for pole position on the turntable, what ensues is little more than A.N.other loud but largely uneventful record.
'Beat Me' kicks off with the statement of intent that is 'Scream For Me', a throwback to the days of poodleperms and spandex pants that's more David St. Hubbins than Nikki Sixx, while 'I Can Hear The Sex Noise' is just plain ridiculous in the extreme.
Things do pick up on the 180mph riffage of 'Slow Down' while 'Mile End' sounds like an outtake from the first Ramones album, so primitive in both lyrical and musical vision. Similarly 'Don't Fuck' and 'I Love Fish But Fish Hate Me' both give unrepentant aural pleasure for differing reasons - the former as a kingsized behemoth of noise pollution like Slayer in rehearsal, the latter more of a punk-pop blues slog that makes the White Stripes sound like Keane.
Unfortunately though, it says something about any record when it's highlight is a cover version, but if Electric Eel Shock had shown half as much poise and passion on the rest of the album as with their take on the Sabs' 'Iron Man' then 'Beat Me' would have been all the better for it. As a result, this is more for diehard fans only. The rest of us can just log onto Soulseek, dig out the original monsters of rock and have done with it.
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5Dom Gourlay's Score