Chris Black is a heavy metal renaissance man. Whether he’s raising hell with speedfreaks Superchrist, bringing nightmares to life with Dawnbringer, or playing marvelous melodies as High Spirits, Black has spent the last 25 years at the cutting edge of the metal underground. No matter what style he’s exploring, the end result is bound to stick with the listener for time to come. His latest exploration, Aktor’s Placebo, is no exception.
Unlike Black’s other bands/projects, Aktor is a little trickier to define. It’d make more sense for you to check them out yourself, but I’m going to give my best stab at a description. Rounded out by Jussi Lehtisalo and Tomi Leppänen of the Finnish experimental group Circle, Aktor plays a hybrid of new wave and hard rock. Yes, you read that correctly. Placebo is a musical time capsule; a collection of quirky 80s songs with synths at the forefront. All of these songs would fit on an episode of Stranger Things.
Placebo begins with the frantic “Bad Mirror”. Carried by an unorthodox riff and confrontational lyrics, it reminds me of “After Dark” by Blue Öyster Cult. Matter of fact, most of the album is in this vein. The BÖC-isms aren’t limited to just the music. Odd lyrics are scattered throughout. They stand out in the opening to “Save You From Me”: “Don’t be so shy when I ask your name. Do you mind if I come by and taste your brain?” Somewhere in the afterworld, BÖC mentor/lyricist Sandy Pearlman is shedding a tear of joy.
Speaking of other worlds, my favorite songs on Placebo deal with this topic. These songs are “Astronaut” and “Seeing Rocks in the Sky”. “Astronaut” begins with a distant acoustic intro complimented by Black’s echoing voice. Spacey synths ring as Black sings, “Drifting into black. Won’t be coming back.” The icing on the cake is the Galaga-esque effects during the chorus. While “Astronaut” gives us the feeling of aimlessly floating through space, “Seeing Rocks in the Sky” brings us back to earth. It’s a relaxing song to stargaze to. The synths on here and “la la la”s remind me of The Cars’ self titled debut. Near the end is a beautiful, but melancholic, guitar solo which contrasts the overall sweet vibe of the song.
The closest trace of metal is heard on the final track, “Clean Machine”. A couple of unexpected speed metal bursts transpire as the song’s main character hits the road on his motorcycle, or “Clean Machine”. Regardless your mode of transportation, this is an excellent song to roam the roads to in the dead of the night. What I didn’t expect was for “Clean Machine” to end with a reference to the opening song on the first Aktor album, “Devil and Doctor”. Black sings, “No more doctors in my room today. No more devils in my way.” What does this mean? By coming full circle, is Aktor now over? Or is this the end of the beginning so to speak? Could we see Aktor transition lyrical content or sounds like Ghost?
I can’t tell you the meaning of this cryptic lyric. I can only speculate. What I can tell you is that Placebo is another strong chapter in the never ending heavy adventures of Chris Black. So put on your Pit Vipers, hop into the DeLorean, and relax as Aktor takes you back to the neon lit time known as the 80s.
7 out of 10
Label: Elektro Records
Genre: Hard Rock/New Wave
For fans of: High Spirits, Fire of Unknown Origin era Blue Öyster Cult, The Cars