Reviews

To say that I was waiting for this expectantly would be to do injustice to the depth of my waiting.  I fell in love with Scarlet’s first EP, Something to Lust About through mp3s, but never could find a real copy. I also missed them live on three separate occasions, once arriving at the show just as the last chord sounded. When I heard Cult Classic was coming out, I talked about it so much, my girlfriend got jealous of all the attention it was diverting from her. Scarlet play over the top hardcore ala ETID, with some grind interludes (see: Daughters), mixed with a little bit of whatever drugs Trent Reznor takes when he does NIN. Their lyrics are depraved and yet tongue in cheek, urging suicide and rape while simultaneously critiquing the society that makes those things an everyday reality. The world is full of pain and death, but the blinds put up by “the world of the manic depressed/ Hopped up on Valium and in cardiac arrest,” end up looking like the real horrors. Scarlet has a way of saying the worst things that come into their minds, and making you want desperately to do the same. I’m as positive as they come, but you can bet I’m singing along, “Go! Fight! Kill! Go! Fight! Kill!” And it’s all trademarked. Every song, every image is stamped with the TM.  Heavy-handed critique?  Maybe?  Fucking awesome? Absolutely. The booklet states: “We started a suicide cult today. And killed ourselves for the cliché.” I’m sending in my dues today.