Pervertigo
“Throne of Chaos”
(Century Media)
Don’t judge a Pervertigo by its cover. I was expecting something fully different from what I got. Based on the baroque grotesqueries on the album cover and the band’s modish style of dress I expected something bizarre, more like circus freak show music, but what I got is something more like progressive power metal. The vocals range from the typical prog metal soaring tenor to a lower raspier style with inflections similar to John Connelly from Nuclear Assault. The music at times becomes full-on pull-the-lever speed metal, but mostly rides at mid-tempo to allow for old-fashioned classic rock guitar showcasing ala Chicago Transit Station.
So, I didn’t get what I expected and even if I had I didn’t imagine what it’d be at all good, but Pervertigo is good. In fact, they’re quite exceptional at what they do and don’t fail in keeping things interesting. Here I am listening to the third track on the album (a real honest to goodness thrasher) and I find that these bastards can’t be second-guessed. They also have cool song titles: “Fistfucking and Alien Seed” and “Johnny B. Dead” to name off my favorites. I bet Pervertigo is that feeling men get when they first step into a nudie bar: it’s the sensation of anticipation and concupiscence being completely subverted and replaced with dread and disgust. After three double whiskies it twists back around though.
