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Piledriver > Stay Ugly > Reviews
Piledriver - Stay Ugly

The Gordian Knot Untied and Carried All the Way to Heaven - 94%

bayern, November 11th, 2022

Greatly done, Gordy… you nailed it most handsomely on this second temptation… I’m pretty certain the angels in Heaven, where you are right now, are humming these tunes wherever they may roam/fly… R.I.P.

Yes, you nailed it so well that I simply didn’t want to listen to anything else for some time… and I wasn’t even the most ardent speed metal fan out there at the time. Yes, this cassette this friend of mine gave me some time in 1987 changed a lot of things for me; and it surely helped that on side B there was another great speedy fare, Living Death’s “Metal Revolution”. In other words, the revolution in my consciousness was stirred by two super-infectious hyper-active recordings released in the mid-80's, both focusing on the entertainment factor exclusively, and very little else.

But yes, the late Gord Kirchin made such a big step forward on this instalment, compared to the enthusiastically sloppy job he did on the debut, that he literally elevated the Canadian speed/thrash metal movement to a newer loftier pedestal alongside his colleagues from Razor. A major reason for this inordinate elevation was his decision to finally have a full-fledged team to support his visions. On the debut he was in league with just one musician, the final result frequently clinging on the naively shaky side with some not very convincing compositional decisions.

No such moments here, ladies and gentlemen. And it can’t be any other way with “The Incubus” sweeping you away unceremoniously, stealing your soul with its unbridled energy, Kirchin sitcking to a pretty effective attached semi-clean singing delivery, also trying to imitate the sinister wails of the incubus at some point. A truly ravishing beginning which finds its match in every subsequent cut, “Metal Death Racer” the ultimate speed metal racer, a wild mosher that throws everyone into the pit, “The Fire God” and “Chaos” pouring more vigour into the sizzling furnace, the latter also boasting a catchy chorus and a boosting galloping section. The horses remain saddled for the supreme “The Lord of Abominations”, the impetuous galloper which captures the audience with another memorable chorus, the heavy stomping rhythms at the start of “Flowers of Evil” boding morose doomy pensiveness, only that such elaborate phrases don't exist in the vocabulary of the Piledriver, and the man keeps raging with another standout speedy tune. He turns into an exalted executioner on the closing “The Executioner”, a more complex piece with another macabre steam-roller intro… the next-in-line misleader as this is a moshing speed/thrashing fury at its barely bridled, the pummelling lasting for a bit longer this time, but by no means expect mathematical complexity to challenge your brain cells along the way… no one needs those, especially when the end is near and, needless to add, the executioner’s here.

And not only but he also took Kirchin away, the man losing his battle with lung cancer two months ago, the metal industry having to carry on without him, to everyone’s utter chagrin. However, he left this grand statement of intent, a most shiny piece of metal that remains his finest achievement, less than-half-an-hour of pure unadulterated speed/thrashing mayhem, his actual contribution to the metal inquisition, nothing ugly here, unless you call ugly one of the true landmarks of the metal roster. It by all means was a noble deed that he felt sorry for the jobless dogs in his hometown in the late-80’s and founded Dogs with Jobs, a less exciting but still worthy power/speed/thrash proposition. His new millennium resurrection stint saw him more exalted but decidedly more “handsome”, with just flashes of genuine speed/thrashing “ugliness” trying to remind of old glories… nope, some things are simply meant to not be beautified, but to stay as they’ve been intended, peerless and essential, even some 35 years down the line…

rest in peace, brother.

No thanks to: posers everywhere - 86%

Felix 1666, December 1st, 2014
Written based on this version: 1986, 12" vinyl, Roadrunner Records

Most probably due to my simple mind, I appreciate music which is simple, but not primitive. It should be reasonably catchy without keeping a close eye on commercial success. Last but not least, of course, a harsh musical approach is welcome, but this is no end in itself.

Piledriver´s second and - I shed a tear - last speed / thrash metal attack meets the listed prerequisites in a striking manner. Those of you who prefer filigree guitars and complicated song structures will not find their fulfilment when listening to this vinyl. Of course, the same goes for posers of any kind. This might be the reason why Piledriver chose the suitable title "Stay Ugly", not "Stay Progressive", "Stay Cute" or something like that. In any case, the band did not have the intention to perform extraordinary tricks. In addition, the production failed to impress sustainably. Be that as it may, the musicians presented seven no-frills tunes. All of them reached a more than solid level.

The most outstanding features of the speedy songs are the highly memorable choruses and the effective riffs. "Incubus" hits the nail on the head. It marks a very good opener due to its fast tempo and the perfectly flowing guitar lines. The other tunes of the A side also show no sign of weakness. But the real killer tracks are gathered on the B side. Of course, I am not speaking about its nonsensical intro. It is, however, a fact that the remaining tracks are doubtlessly earworms. Even after all these years since I bought the album, I was never able to forget their choruses and I did not get the main riffs out of my (simple) mind. For example, the opening riff of "Lord of Abomination" sounds as fascinating as the insistent ending of "Flowers of Evil". And that´s not all: the last track of the full-length can be seen as its most shining jewel. "The Executioner" begins with a very catchy riffing which is combined with a spoken word intro. The song turns rapidly to a genuine speed metal grenade, although a slower passage is well integrated, too. Finally, the short radio play-like sequence constitutes an original conclusion of the song and the entire album as well. It is therefore the only pity that the mentioned executioner also murdered the band.

From my point of view, Piledriver´s albums have definitely reached cult status. The band did not deliver the most phenomenal solos or a very imposing vocal performance on the here presented full-length. And it was too bad that they did not care about the brief playtime of less than 30 minutes. But the Canadians had charisma. They did not take themselves too seriously and they were unswervingly following a clearly defined musical direction. In view of the small number of reviews on this side, the album seems to be at risk to fall in oblivion. This would be highly regrettable. Only the (probably justified) tortured poser and his deranged brothers in spirit would welcome this annoying development.

I am the incubus! - 80%

Svarthavid, April 5th, 2009

This album is a classic to me, since I first heard it when I was 5 years old, when I accidentally found one of my dad’s cassettes, which included this one and Anthrax’s Among the living, which also is a great album by the way. I bought it again recently, almost 11 years later, and it’s still kick ass.
I’m actually quite surprised that no one have written a review for this, because I think this album is a lot better than “Metal inquisition”.

The production is quite raw, but that doesn’t matter, actually. It’s just adding to the somewhat creepy and evil atmosphere. The only thing which is a downside is the drums, which is very week. PileDriver’s vocals are quite harsh, and he has an impressive range too.

The music present here are thrash with lots of power metal influences, with lyrics dealing with Satan, sex, evil and other pretty normal subjects in metal lyrics.

We have several great songs here. Lord of abominations, Flowers of evil, The executioner, Metal Death racer, and my all time favourite, The incubus! This song begins with some thunder and rain, and rages on with several cool rifs along it’s way, espesually the chorus. The end of the song is maybe the part I like the most, even though I can’t quite understand what it’s supposed to mean. First, you hear a woman screaming, and then a baby screaming. The scream of the baby is changing more and more into a type of demonic scream, and finally the normal baby screams is drowned by the demonic one. The first time I heard it, when I was a 5 year old brat, I thought it was quite scary, but I just wanted to hear it again and again. Another great song is metal death racer, which also have a very catchy chorus. Hell, almost every song on this goddamn album has a great chorus.

Highlights: Chaos, Metal Death racer, Lord of abominations, Flowers of evil, The executioner, and of course, The incubus!