Fe-metal

Something like a ferocious hybrid of PJ Harvey, Jesus Lizard, Babes In Toyland and Big Black, Made Out of Babies first captured the attention of the underground punk/metal scene with its Neurot Recordings debut Trophy in 2005. On stage, caterwauling front-woman Julie Christmas paces the floor, yelping with a bewitching intensity that defies her charming beauty and occasionally cherubic whispers. Meanwhile, towering guitarist Brendan Tobin coolly strangulates leaden sheets of guitar strata from his battered six-string, bassist Cooper lunges in time as his instrument rumbles and slithers around Matthew Egan’s relentlessly churning rhythms and blood-splattering drum fills. There’s no rock machismo in the sounds of Made Out of Babies, which just might be what makes it so unsettling and unique. Instead, the group bears a mysteriously unified all-out visual and aural aesthetic assault reminiscent of mid-period Black Flag. And yet, there’s a certain curious glamour to MOoB that gives it a monolithic appeal. Ire Fire Swarm Mr. Prison Shanks