For my fourteenth birthday, I was asked by a family friend what I wanted as a gift. Being both precocious and obsessed with music, I gave her a small of list of albums that I had been longing to own, but could not find at my local record store. When my birthday arrived, I was ecstatic to unwrap a copy of Jehovah’s Hitlist by Bender, as it gave me access to one of my all-time favorite music finds from a video game, the song “Isolate.” However, I soon discovered that the rest of the record was just as incredible as the song that had hooked me. In the years since, I have been unable to leave this record out of rotation for more than a few months, as the dynamic and powerful music of Bender has indelibly wrapped itself around my heart.
Despite
being written and released in the age of nu-metal, Bender easily manages to
keep Jehovah’s Hitlist from blending
in with the crowd of similar bands by utilizing a diverse palate of sounds.
Their specific blend of heavy instruments and fierce yet soulful vocals
explores every corner and crevice between the labels of alternative rock and
heavy metal, from super-heavy chugs in “Sharon Stone,” through radio-friendly
rock in “Body & Soul” and “Seizures,” and even a ridiculous blend of both in
“Superfly.” While such an eclectic throng of sounds might doom most records,
the band’s consistently energetic performances mark every tune with a
resounding “Property of Bender.” Furthermore, the expert mix of the record assures
a full and cohesive sound across the entire album, employing a plethora of
overdubs (even on the drums!) to leave no sonic space seeming empty or loose.
One
element that keeps me returning to Jehovah’s
Hitlist is the strange feel of humor that infects over half the record.
There is essentially a 65/35 split in the feel of this record between serious
and silly; “Fresh Daddy” features lead vocalist Kent Boyce vividly describing a
pimp-like character in a preposterous falsetto, while the whole band thrashes in
“Lobster” under his account of a carnival date gone horribly wrong. Even the
opener and lead single “Superfly” features jarring guitar highs and goofy
singing as the band defames a local legend who once tried out for Boyce’s
position.[1]
This approach to a record, while odd, shows that Bender is a true human band,
more concerned with enjoying the ride than taking themselves too seriously.
Yet, any accusations that they might be a joke band are easily quashed, as Bender’s
comical tunes are just as ferocious and hard-rocking as the rest.
Bender may
have a sense of humor, but they aren’t at all afraid to delve into darkness
either, and no song on Jehovah’s Hitlist
gets darker than “Dig It Boy.” Played in drop-B♭ (the lowest tuning I’d ever heard at that
age), guitarist Matt Scarpella’s angry verse riff features palm muting so
heavy, it consistently rattles me to my core. Boyce weaves deathly images of
“breed maggots / feast[ing] on the bones of the dove” while wailing out the
empty and unanswered question “are my eyes still red?”[2]
Bender beats the snot out of this tune instrumentally, loading it with disturbing
riffs and a fascinating bridge, featuring the strings in 3/4 against the
swirling 4/4 drumming of Steve Adams. Loaded with shadow and loathing, “Dig It
Boy” is heavy enough to dig all the way to hell, and never fails to leave me
shaking with excitement and energy.
Instrumentally, Bender lays out a
startlingly full portrait of sound that is complex yet pleasing, and for the
most part, Kent Boyce’s lyrics are of the same stock. Though rarely poetic, he
approaches his craft from off the beaten path, inserting rhymes mid-line rather
than at the end and toying with the sounds of words. In “Fall on Your Head,” he
even uses his language to imply an idea without explicitly stating it: “I’ll
keep one wide open / Keep one locked away.”[3]
His vocal performances leave all his singing, no matter how out-there it
becomes, feeling natural, so much so that the overt sexual undertones in “Passion Flower” lose all of their crudeness. Boyce’s vocals and lyrics walk the line
between brilliance and bizarre, yet the abundance of color and texture to the
music on Jehovah’s Hitlist provides
him with a secure foothold that lets those decisions blossom.
Though this record is loaded with
awesome, my absolute favorite song must be “Isolate,” the ATV Offroad Fury find that started it all for me.[4]
A gentle but insistent guitar riff opens the tune, belying the torrential rock
that quickly follows as the rest of the band kicks in. Boyce’s vocal is equal
parts magnificent and moving, especially as he swings into the chorus. Over
chord progressions laden with color tones, his lyrics seem rather simple, yet
Boyce forces them to stand out by again eschewing end rhyme for most of the
song while playing with concept and sound in the lines “emotion sickness” and
“it carves creation’s fire.”[5]
The tune that began my love affair with this record, “Isolate” is a powerhouse
in every aspect, and had it been approved as the lead single,[6]
perhaps Jehovah’s Hitlist might have
catapulted Bender into the ears of thousands more people.
A medley of sound and style, Jehovah’s Hitlist is a record that
perpetually draws me back into its embrace. The fearless and impassioned way
Bender approaches their music on this record creates hundreds of footholds for
new listeners, which are only strengthened by their blatant honesty and
inclusion of humor. These traits leave me baffled as to how this album and this
band have remained unknown for so long, and even more confused as to how I
managed to get a copy. However, I am equally thankful, as the thirteen tracks
carved into this scratched, fingerprinted disc never fail to remind me of the
possibilities music holds when it is backed by the pure human spirit.
Tunes to Check Out:
1) Isolate
2) Dig It Boy
3) Passion Flower
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