About Me
STORE IS NOW OPEN!!!FEB 8th UPDATE:
WELCOME TO THE SHOW.....................:)**METHOD OF OPERATION 2006 BIO**
Final Cut/Method of Operation
The Final Cut has been an international underground electronic music enigma
since emerging from the late 80s Detroit underground. Final Cut began when
Anthony "Asrock" Srock, then a radio and club DJ, began collaborating with
then-unknown techno DJ Jeff Mills. The pair struck gold with the
international club hit "Take Me Away" just as Detroit technos first wave
began to crest, and of course didnt see a thin dime from it as was the
fashion of the day. But the sound was a mix of industrial, house and techno,
aggressive but uplifting, and showed Asrocks roots as a DJ absorbing
different genres to make the best record.Mills left for a career of minimal techno and was replaced by drummer and
programmer Joseph LaFata. Asrock and LaFata took FC into a more aggressive
industrial direction with "I Told You Not To Stop" in the early 90s, with
Srock stepping out as frontman and vocalist. The single led to an album deal
with Nettwerk Records, home to fellow industrial-and-then-some act Skinny
Puppy. The resulting album, 1992s Consumed, evolved the Chicago industrial
sound into a more Detroit-bred, bottom-ended sound, full of churning riffs
and wide-load beatsMinistry upended by P-Funk. The album featured
collaborations with Revolting Cocks/Ministry alums Chris Connelly and the
late, great William Tucker (RIP). It also showed Asrock emerging as a
seething frontman of a sound that straddled techno, industrial, deep riffs
and melodic rock. It was also, of course, way-too ahead of its time. Despite
all-live, sampler-free, full-band supporting tours with Chris Connellys
band and My Life With The Thrill Kill Kult, Consumed suffered from being on
a Canadian label more devoted to Sarah McClachlan than artist development.Down but not out, Srock returned with 1995s Atonement, recorded at
Chicagos Warzone Studios and first released on Chemlabs Fifth Column
Records and then re-released in 1998 on Slipdisc/Mercury. By now, LaFata had
settled down and left, replaced by Greg Lucas, CreepyK, aka Kurt Komraus, of
Lick and guitarist Max Edgin of 13 Mg, fellow midwestern axe-wielders with a
taste for wicked beats and hard sounds. As Ministry was turning into a
death-metal parody, Nine Inch Nails was becoming "The Crow On Ice" and
Filter was turning into an alt-rock footnote, Final Cut wasnt having any of
it. With the production of Van Christie of Die Warzau and Jason McNinch,
cuts like "Terminate" sharpened the hard groove FC sound into a "one chord
and the truth" as Lou Reed might put itwith the requisite earth-mover beat
under it, of course.Cut to 2005. Joe Lafata has passed. Asrocks mother as well. Times are tough
again, in a different way. When Final Cut started, Public Enemy welcomed us
to the Terrordome; now theyd welcome us to the Astrodome. Asrocks been
around the country, stopping in Chicago, the West Coast, and, after the
death of a parent and a nervous breakdown, back where he started in Detroit,
taking care of his family. He works nights making ends meet spinning in
strip bars, but still he wants to make records. He jumpstarts Full Effect
recordshis own label and Final Cuts original portal to the listening
world, immortalized by the slogan: "If it gets you erect, its on Full
Effect."
Thus re-erected, Srock rallies CreepyK and Max, then calls up Taime Downe,
an old pal from Pigfaces revolving cast of characters. Taimes better known
as frontman for hair metallers Faster Pussycat, but more recently a
born-again Goth/industrial entity singing in his band the Newlydeads. Downe
brings on Newlydead Xristian Simon, another guitar player who knows his way
around a brit-pop melody and heavy, timeless riffs. Add to that production
from Baltimore vocalist Ric Peters and Chicago engineer wunderkid Jason
McNinch, and Method of Operation represents the most collective Final Cut
effort to date. Asrock humbly puts it, "Like most Final Cut records, the sum
is greater than its parts." With this many parts, it would have to be.
Working between Detroit, Chicago and LA over the course of 2005, Asrock
and his band of riff- and beat-happy gypsies piece together what will become
Final Cuts strongest work yet, Method of Operation. Ten tracks of wide-load
beats, bulls-eye riffs and Final Cuts trademark seething ominousness. The
vibe is menacing, ornery, but in a positive way. Taime, Max and Xristians
guitar work is extraordinary, punchy but articulate, driving without just
being relentless. The album opening "Come On To You" may be the most melodic
riff ever in a Final Cut song; its also one of the heaviest. A song like
"Be Alive" is just what the title says, a song about persevering through
anything life throws at you. And then theres curveballs like "Mutiny," an
underwater psychedelic half-speed tune featuring former Big Chief guitarist
Phil Durr.
The Final Cut sound has matured from its industrial techno roots into a
hazed and razed sound that recalls heavier goth-pop bands like Jesus and
Mary Chain, Love and Rockets and Peter Murphy while still giving club
deejays deep-cut BPMs to choose from "Ten years ago when we tried to make a
melodic industrial record we felt about as welcome as a narc at a biker
rally,"" says Srock. "Now the games finally wide-open enough again that we
can do what we want and our fans will get it." And why wouldnt they:
underneath the queasy riffs and torn beats is a simple message: you keep
going, no matter what. Embrace the adversity. That which doesnt kill you
only makes the music stronger. These are songs of survival, after all.
Surviving the hard times, surviving the death of loved ones, surviving all
the getting f-ed over. Most of all, surviving yourself. Method of Operation,
indeed. Dont call it a comeback, Final Cuts been here for years.
Hobie Echlin /Sep 2006
Atonement will be available through Full Effect Records
