LOOK WHAT I DID

It's gotta be a rough sled, being LOOK WHAT I DID. I got threatened with bodily harm just for liking them five years ago, when their "Minuteman For the Moment" album came out (remember that re-launched Combat label they were on? Yeah, neither does anyone else). But time hasn't mellowed their penchant for weirdness, and "Atlas Drugged" should pucker the collective phobias of less-adventurous metalheads and hardcore kids everywhere.

At their core, LOOK WHAT I DID seem to have a DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN-esque hardcore side and a soaring, melodic hard rock side, each locked in an eternal struggle to run the show. Then they have this manic Tourette's vibe going on that recalls prime THOUGHT INDUSTRY, a tendency to throw in abrasive parts at odd intervals or veer from crooning to a ranting screech in seconds flat. That sort of off-the-deep-end refusal to stay on one path earned ZAPPA, DEVIN TOWNSEND and MR. BUNGLE diehard cult followings, and it seems to be working on an infinitely smaller scale for LOOK WHAT I DID, but it makes for the sort of record that laughs at attempts to describe it.

The thing is, they're not even all that inaccessible. They're weird, sure, but there's a ton of melody and some great playing here. Vocalist Barry Donegan, in particular, has an amazing singing voice, when he's not shrieking or making random noises (listen to those AOR vocal lines in the chorus of "Baby Darwins"!). Sonically, the album is drenched in multitracked harmonies and favors a warm, bass-heavy sound that brings to mind VOIVOD circa "Angel Rat". You just have to want to absorb songs that start out relatively straightforward, like say "Serf Song", and then veer off into spazzy circus parts, goofy guitar runs, oddly-placed jazzy bridges, and enough general chaos to make the chorus's periodic return seem like a life preserver thrown just in the nick of time.

The end result is more progressive than 90% of the bands we currently saddle with the "prog" tag, but it's just obnoxious and manic enough to turn off more staid fans of that genre. But then again, these guys kick apart genre pigeonholes and then roll around in the shards, making a gleeful, bloodied mess of the whole idea that bands should stick to something familiar, or sound the same from song to song. Thus, they'll forever be converting open-minded folks one fan at a time, while most of the world stares on with either confused apathy or outright hostility. Me? I think they're a riot, a phenomenal band, and exactly what the underground needs -- I can't say I'm doing a very good job of explaining them, but I can at least wholeheartedly recommend them.