Music
The best kept secret in music
Press
Blood simple
Wretched Asylum paint the town red in Prognosis
BY BOB GULLA
WRETCHED'S EXCESS: the mayhem flows on the quintet's Prognosis.
OK, so sometimes you gotta have a gimmick. Lotsa bands have one — Slipknot, Mudvayne, AC/DC, you name it. Even when it seems a band doesn’t have one, they do, especially on the national scene, where perception is everything. Dave Matthews, for example, is perceived as a regular guy, gimmick-less, but that’s a gimmick in itself. No? Wretched Asylum and Mr. Slugg both have their gimmicks, and both pay attention to supporting that gimmick with credible tunes.
Wretched Asylum: Prognosis (www.wretchedasylum.com)
Good evocative stuff from the bloodied bods in Wretched Asylum. Though I haven’t seen them live, it appears there’s plenty of macabre mayhem onstage, as Phil Smolinksy and his cabal wreaks serious havoc, with aspirations in that regard reminiscent of Cradle of Filth or Slipknot. The theatricality plays a big part of the band’s sound, though it’s not everything. While Prognosis, doesn’t do that sound full justice, it does give some indication that the Wretched Asylum vibe deserves serious consideration. It’s skillfully played, especially on guitar, ably perpetrated by the team of Michael Todd and Norman Maclean. Stephanie Canelas, who sings backing vocals in addition to her bass duties, does a terrific job underlying all the madness with real power, as does her rhythm partner Brandon Lee on drums. The assault is real and so is Wretched Asylum. Extra points for the faux-blood covered disc and an equally maniacal Website.
Like the best theatrical rockers vying for attention, consistency and shock value is key, and it seems like WA are circling a cool look and impact like vultures. The songs? Oh, yeah. Uh, well, "Darkness Within," for one, packs a huge wallop, with Smolinsky’s black metal screech and a galloping guitar line. "Negative 7" starts off as a terrifying trudge and claws its way into a murkier territory. "Reek of Vengeance," recorded live, is as good a recording as any on the disc and proves the band is totally up to their wretched task. Check ’em out, and bring the pig’s blood.
- Providence Phoenix - Issue Date: March 4-10, 2005
Discography
5 Song EP - Prognosis - 2004
Mind Prison - featured on Manchester Radio Station Rock 101
Streaming mp3's can be found at www.myspace.com/wretchedasylum or our website www.wretchedasylum.com
Photos
Feeling a bit camera shy
Bio
Insanity has always been a dark secret of society; its victims were confined behind padded walls and numbed by Thorazine - shunned by the populous at large as the undesirables. These unfortunates, who were deemed “mad” by the so-called “rational” psychologists of the modern age, lingered in a twilight world where all time is lost, the mind is subdued, and the spirit destroyed. The mentally ill have been subjected to the worst crimes humanity has ever imagined and their screams were either ignored or fell upon deaf ears…until now.
Out of the dust of the abandoned asylums a force has been unleashed upon the world; the tortured souls of a forgotten past will no longer be content to linger in the shadows. Their combined voices have been made manifest…the time for the reckoning has come! Its shape is pure anger. Its sound is absolute violence. Its enmity toward mankind is all consuming. Five outcasts have become a combined power to take vengeance upon the world that had abandoned them. They have become known collectively as Wretched Asylum.
Led by the anguished vocals of Phil Smolinsky, the guitars of Michael Todd, the bass of Norm MacLean, and the drums & sound effects of Brandon Lee, Wretched Asylum is a metal assault never before experienced. Nothing can prepare you for the madness unleashed onstage – nothing can stop the onslaught – you can either participate in the mayhem or be consumed by it. What society has sown, the disturbed shall reap! The entire earth will soon know the price of its inhumanity – the world will soon know the retribution of Wretched Asylum!
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