Pure Sweet Hell – The Voyeurs of Utter Destruction As Beauty
Crash Music – CMU 61136 – April 5th, 2005
By Jason Jordan
Give Van Williams (
Nevermore) a microphone – along with drumsticks of course – and apparently what will result is
The Voyeurs of Utter Destruction As Beauty. The ubiquitous comparisons to
Nevermore are warranted in fact, as
Pure Sweet Hell do lie in the same, general field. Lamentably, though, this debut album isn’t as luscious as anything that’s been cooked by Van Williams’s parent band.
Even though the unit has good sense, the opening tracks such as “Innocence and the Beast,” “Scared About Everything,” and “Golgotha On My Mind” are only mildly amusing. I definitely can’t go as far as to claim that they’re bad, however. In truth, most – if not all – compositions are fairly decent. The
Pantera-like “Swallow” gets cool at times, as does the edgy “Undone.” “Hangfire” presents blustering riffs with awkward vocalizations, while “Rave Song” prefers innovativeness to technicality. “Take Away” commences with a brilliant soundclip that, no doubt, you’ve heard before. Most of the enjoyment I gleaned from the aforementioned song was due to the utilization of said soundclip. The album rounds out with thirteen tracks and runs the extent of forty-five minutes. So, it’s a sizeable export for
Pure Sweet Hell, which are on contract for at least another three albums.
Honestly, I was a little disappointed with
The Voyeurs of Utter Destruction As Beauty. I think their songwriting capabilities aren’t up to full strength yet, but I anticipate
Pure Sweet Hell releasing better records in the future. Thought I should’ve mentioned
Nevermore, um, more huh? Well then:
Nevermore,
Nevermore,
Nevermore,
Nevermore,
Nevermore, * rests fingers *,
Nevermore,
Nevermore,
Nevermore.
7/10
P.S.
Nevermore.
Official Pure Sweet Hell website
Official Crash Music website
