Scorpion Milk – Slime of the Times

Of all the “metal adjacent” genres I cover, post-punk is perhaps the one I cover the least. The brooding, awkward, pimple-faced younger brother of punk never appealed to me the way its older sibling did with its sloppy riff-centric attack and faux promises of anarchy. That said, the post-punk that I do enjoy, I enjoy voraciously. Albums like Killing Joke’s self titled, Iggy Pop’s The Idiot, and The Cure’s Pornography are amongst my all time favorites. In this regard, I think my biggest problem with post-punk isn’t the music itself, but rather the unfair standards I hold: This idea that if an album of this nature comes my way for review and ISN’T a fraction as brilliant as Killing Joke’s debut, adios.

With this in mind, I decided to go in with an open ears as I received a promo for Slime of the Times, the debut album from Scorpion Milk, courtesy of a PR pal. For those wondering who the hell Scorpion Milk is, they are the latest musical manifestation of metal/post-punk lifer, Mat McNerney. Over the course of his 30+ year career, McNerney has been involved with acts as diverse as Dødheimsgard, Hexvessel, and Beastmilk, the latter of whom I recall being highly celebrated upon the release of their sole outing, Climax (2013). Considering that vehicle came screeching to a halt a decade ago, Slime of the Times comes off as the sequel to Climax that never was.

Considering Killing Joke is my golden standard when it comes to post-punk, I was pleasantly surprised by cuts like “All the Fear”, “The Will to Live”, and “Wall to Wall”, which may as well be debut era KJ reincarnated. McNerney nails the tense atmosphere, dissonant guitars, and apocalyptic vocals characteristic of the “Requiem” songsmiths, all while crafting catchy hooks along the way. And as cool as I’d be with this being 10 songs of pure KJ worship, Slime manages to be so much more, expanding upon this core post-punk ethos with flashes of neighboring genres like gothic rock, new wave, and industrial.

The spooky deathrock of “She Wolf of London” recalls Bauhaus at their most dance-friendly, while the ultra-melodic leanings of “Another Day into the Abyss” and “All Snakes No Ladders” could easily pass for Echo & the Bunnymen singles circa 1984. Giving Slime its metal edge are the title track and “Silver Pigs”: Two sludgy slabs of throbbing, tribal industrial metal reminiscent of Godflesh’s earliest experimentations. Stradling the line between heavy and hypnotic, one can’t help but hope (if out of mortal fear alone) that a second Scorpion Milk affair would further explore this vein.

Cold, foreboding, and bleak in every way imaginable, Slime of the Times is the perfect album to ring in the autumnal season. It’s resolute darkness alone is enough to sway heavy music fans of all ages, even those who don’t often venture outside the metallic realm (like myself). Make no mistake: After a listen or two, you’re bound to fancy a cup of Scorpion Milk in all its filthy, murky, and unpasteurized glory. How’s that for a sting?

7 out of 10

Label: Peaceville Records

Genre: Post-Punk

For fans of: Killing Joke, Godflesh, Bauhaus