This Is the Day, This Is the Hour, This Is This

Back in the late 80s, industrial music had yet to make a name for itself in the mainstream (which wouldn't truly come to pass until Nine Inch Nails and Marilyn Manson watered down the genre for mass consumption). Thanks to the likes of Ministry, Front 242 and Skinny Puppy, however, it was rapidly evolving into a more palatable form of music; a stark contrast with the freeform, atonal abstractions of Throbbing Gristle that dominated the scene a decade earlier. Enter Pop Will Eat Itself: they, along with Meat Beat Manifesto, where the first to inject a severe dose of hip-hop mentality into the genre and give it a new twist. And it is on this album that their style was best realised. "This is the Day..." is a towering slab of noise-funk; an electrifying concoction of sample-heavy industrial strength punk rock hip-hop that is, odd as it may sound, as uncompromising as it is accessible. Employing the same cut-and-paste techniques as the likes of the Bomb Squad (whose production skills sent Public Enemy into the stratosphere a year earlier), the Dust Brothers and the aforementioned Meat Beat Manifesto, PWEI knew exactly what they were doing - creating a dense wall of noise backed with simple, yet effective drum programming (think "Land of R*** and Honey"-era Ministry) and chunky guitar riffs. Very punk-influenced, with a dash of 80s thrash metal thrown in for good measure. Where the band really scores, however, is with the lyrics. They're smart, streetwise, irreverent, daft and unbelievably awesome. Giving their transatlantic counterparts The Beastie Boys a run for their money, they toss cultural references and witticisms around like housewives toss salad. Vocalists Clint Mansell and Graham Crabb are often lambasted for not being the most godlike MCs ever, but I think this criticism is wholly unwarranted - they put every single rapper on radio today to absolute shame. Plus, they have two of the *coolest* sounding voices I've heard, their performances (replete with astute English accents) giving the lyrical passages a ever-so-slight hint of underlying irony. Impressive stuff, to say the very least. "Not Now James, We're Busy" is quite possibly the best song I've ever heard, cramming more ingenuity in the space of three minutes than most bands manage in their entire career, let alone an album. Other highlights include "Preaching to the Weirdos", "Def Con One" and "Radio P.W.E.I."

In any case, how can you not love a band who give their drum machine the name of "Dr. Nightmare"? Buy this album now, or forever live a meaningless and futile life.