A few days ago I popped on Just Like Vinyl’s Black Mass as I sat down with a bowl of Frosted Flakes and that’s what I wrote down in a notebook wearing Lisa Frank stickers; “frosted flakes.” It wasn’t the music’s fault I felt nothing, it was the fact that I’d been stifled by the reality of unemployment and staring at the same four walls day after day, so on the last day of August I decided the next day would be different. I would leave the confines of the Valley and take the show on the road.
This time around Black Mass was listened to on a subway heading towards Union Station. The smell of LA summer B.O. filled the area as Trojan fans shuffled on. Apparently there was a USC game. Trojan’s, funny because “Safety Word” was the first song to catch my attention. It’s had this post hardcore sound to it that gave my ears a beating, but then the music softened a bit as the record played on.
The music got to the point that I could actually understand what was going on, but then the words confused me. “We will take your first born…” This lyrical kidnap took me for bit, but I really started to get into it and the animosity I started feeling at a young age being labeled the “middle child” started pouring in. Then I thought, what would it be like if they took both the first and third born? I’d be an only child…
Those twisted thoughts didn’t end there as the mental image of “…milking a dead cow” was burned into my mind thanks to “Hours and Whiskey Sours.” To end the eeriness, “Happiness is A Hole” played like a demented cheerleading squad’s anthem. Imagine girls in Hot Topic apparel and faces barren of smiles, spelling “happiness.” Oh the irony.
Fans of Cancer Bats and Every Times I die will appreciate the balance of abrupt rock and abrasive lyrics, and the cleverness of having “$$$” come after “ATM.” It may have just amused me, but still…My trip with Just Like Vinyl’s Black Mass started with a bowl of cereal and lead me to sit amidst Labor Day travelers hurrying to trains for a few days getaway…You can check out Black Mass, out now on Superball Music.
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