flu.ID - Iots

Ouch! Listening to this record is sort of like getting a good kicking. It's a twitchy and belligerent album of avant-metal. Well, actually, it's two EPs somewhat crudely sewn together. The first half of Iots is more feral; more concerned with the maths. Think of it as the skinny ned who bites, gouges and headbutts his victims amongst the bins at the back of the Miner's Welfare. The second half (and latter of the two original EPs) is a far more confident affair and sets upon you with the swagger and graceful brutality of a heavyweight boxer. Here, the awkwardly monikered flu.ID begin to incorporate the groove of Eyehategod. Though never anything less than thunderous, Iots clearly exercises far more control in its pummelling from this point onwards. One major gripe concerns the needless afterthought atmospherics and breakbeat electronica added during the amalgamation of EPs. Tokenistic and entirely pointless, they don't bring much to the record. [Chris Cusack]