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Yellow Machinegun > Spot Remover > Reviews
Yellow Machinegun - Spot Remover

Bay Area by Way of Osaka - 95%

Cat III, October 1st, 2018

Spot Remover is strange. “Ever-More” and the title track feature burly grooves that would make Dimebag envious, “Hip Tail” opens with a riff that sounds awful similar to the one alt-rockers Jack Off Jill used in “Lollirot”, the cover is adorned with what resembles a still from something that would air on MTV's Liquid Television and the band members look like they belong to a Pitchfork-approved indie pop group. Yet, this is a true blue thrash album. And it came out in 1998, which may be the strangest thing about it. At a time when the titans of the genre had either split up or had years prior settled into releasing toothless dross, Yellow Machinegun kept the thrash flame burning.

Having stepped up their musicianship since their debut, Father's Golden Fish, the Japanese trio deliver a more varied album while keeping a foot planted firmly in hardcore. Most tracks are less than two minutes with emphasis on speed and aggression. Within this straightforward framework, the band are never short interesting ideas. Kaori Okumura provides a strong backbone with her basslines which aren't flashy, but have enough character to reward listening closely. Upon this foundation, Kyoko Moriya lays down some killer guitar work. She's not a riff machine, opting for a simpler approach, but she squeezes every drop from the riffs she does have. Punky numbers like “Why?” and “Shut Your Mouth” show a penchant for writing keen hooks that aren't overbearingly catchy. This carries over to the thrashier songs which go full throttle and then some. Moriya isn't against soloing, sprinkling in a few quick and dirty solos. When things slow down, she rises to the occasion, hammering the listener with riffs of devastating heaviness. Hard-hitter “Iron Woman” draws from the same NYHC influences that were prominent on the previous album. “Eat Hat Fat” is equally punishing, but looks further back to old-school heavy metal for it's riffing. At a sprawling eight minutes and forty seconds it's over twice the length of their next longest song (“Floatin' Weed” from Yellow Bucket). It makes for a perfect closer with its sudden bursts of speed, extended guitar solo and surprisingly decent clean vocals.

Most of the time, the vocals are harsh with a few lines simply being spoken (the latter comes off as oddball rather than pretentious). Okumura screams with the best of them, covering a wide range of techniques to keep things interesting. Whether she employs hardcore yells, hellacious shrieks or deep growls, she not only matches, but adds to the music's aggression. The strained screaming at the end of “Home Alone” will make your throat sore. In case anyone was wondering, Okumura proves, if you have enough conviction, you can scream “It's not breakfast, it's just dinner/'French toast' is the password/for you and me” on a metal record and make it work. Stream of consciousness lyrics written in broken English is one of Yellow Machinegun's defining characteristics and would make them stand out in any point of thrash's history. “Make with corn all right OK” indeed!

As for the last of the instruments, Tamami Okado's drumming is her tightest performance to date. When the music needs propulsive energy, she's ready and willing, and when things slow down, she attacks with force. All the while, she finds room for some tasteful fills, like near the end of “In a Box”. Giving her a boost is a fine production job that provides the drums the proper amount of punch. Every instrument benefits, with none being mixed too low or high. Here's how a thrash album ought to be produced. The guitar has a satisfying crunch and the bass is pleasingly plump. Attention is not drawn to the producers and instead the music is given enough clarity and power to shine.

Consistency was a strong point of Yellow Machinegun, with all five of their LPs worth listening to (the split with Abnormals also merits fans' attention), but Spot Remover is the high point. It is the apotheosis of a career devoted to upholding thrash virtues while never taking themselves too seriously. They belong within the genre, yet hold a unique identity. It's no wonder this is the band's sole album which Howling Bull saw fit to also release on their American imprint (as well as the only one to get the vinyl treatment). Of course, the timing wasn't right for this to become a breakout hit. Post-Metallica, but before retro thrash took hold and the style's originators started “returning to their roots”, this sort of music was not in vogue even in the underground, making these ladies' adherence even more respectable. However, even if released in some other time and environment, Spot Remover would still slay.