Rictus Grin - Living The Dream
2005 unsigned

Track Listing:
1.  Lifeless
2.  Stalker
3.  Death Dance
4.  The Dark Hereafter
5.  Keystone Buick
6.  Rictus
7.  Morgue
8.  Poe
9.  Alucard 

Line-Up:
Vocals:  Larry Weeks
Guitar:  Larry Weeks
Bass:  Dave Moran
Session Drums:  Jeff Lamers

Website:  www.rictusgrin.com

Shev's Rating:  A
Average Album Rating:  A

Shev's Review:  
Back with yet another assault of the senses, Milwaukee’s Rictus Grin have unleashed “Living The Dream”, the follow-up to their 2003 full-length, “Taste The Steel” (not counting the “Living The Dream EP” released in 2004).  While this album weighs in a bit scrawny at just above 28 minutes long, and the album art is nothing more than an amateurish Dungeons & Dragons-like skeleton forever trapped in a motionless pin-up, Rictus Grin know their metal and aren’t afraid to flaunt it like a cheap New Orleans whore. 

Rictus Grin are actually one of those rare thrash acts that incorporate large amounts of death metal among many other influences to create a unique sound which can be recognized even upon hearing a song of theirs for the first time.  Larry Weeks’ death metal vocals are distinctively smooth with a crisp edge much like taking a bite from an apple, which is also teamed with his utterly crushing, tight guitar playing skills.  The bass is used with intricate perfection and worked well into the mix.  Don’t be expecting some lazy bass player to just fart around in the background.  This material creatively rivals that of the legendary Overkill, and in some instances, laps it completely.  This is all sewn shut with the drumming of Jeff Lamers, which is just a bit undercooked in sound, but overall strong and most importantly, lacking in blast beats…or as those clever Latinese used to say…blasticus homosexuous beateronimus. 

So what we have here is some very catchy, memorable, and well-written death metal-influenced thrash with a slight intimation of power metal and doom in places.  They don’t exactly light the world on fire with some unconventionally improved metal sound, but instead base their sound on what appears to be no less than a ka-zillion different styles ranging from Iron Maiden to Razor to Suffocation.  A fantastic mix of tempo-changing atrocities, tank-riding melodies, and destructive riffs hijacking planes and flying them into buildings.  Take “Alucard” for example, their most epic tune on the disc.  They put to shame what bands like In Flames try to accomplish, and put forth a great contrast of frenzy and emotionally detached lethargy.  Absolutely brilliant, and they make it sound so easy. 

Unfortunately, there’s really not much to pick apart.  There are the slower, more peaceful breaks as seen in the likes of “Death Dance” which seem a little out of place.  The sickening belch by drummer Jeff Lamers at the end of “Keystone Buick” is the wettest, most vile, disturbing thing found in a song since Cattle Decapitation’s sample of the Russian soldier getting his throat slit.  Other than that…one can only nitpick at the stupid stuff like the quick fade-out at the end of “Morgue”.  In closing, “Living The Dream” really is all that and a bag of chips.  Highly recommended to all fans of thrash and death, especially the older bucks like myself who grew up with metal from the 80’s.  Guess what?  These guys not only understand it, but have no intentions of replicating what used to be.  They just do what they do.  Now if they would only stop promoting such crappy beer…
Shev's Rating:  A