Children of Technology – Future Decay Review

There comes a time in your life when you have to say to yourself, “Self, what’s wrong with you? Sure, you have responsibilities… obligations, even. What would happen if you were to just, I dunno, shut your brain off for a little wild and just go happily apeshit? You know… legally, of course. You have to be at work in the morning and your significant other will be pissed if he/she has to pick you up in jail at 4 am.” Italy’s Children of Technology pretty much have your soundtrack ready for you with Future Decay.

The title track falsely lulls you in with a simple keyboard melody, a few pinch harmonics, and some simple drumming before it goes into D-beatened madness about a minute in. This is unapologetically 80s-loving skate thrash with a bit of a modern twist. Simple-yet-effective riffs, rousing gang choruses, relentless pummelling by the lovely Goddess of Hammering Chaos, and some off-kilter growls and screams by DeathLörd Astwülf pretty much ensure that you have entered the land full of unabashed D.R.I. worship. This will make you get up off your ass and slam dance and/or skate.

And the album doesn’t relent whatsoever in its 27-minute runtime. There may be a little bit of a break in the speed (such as the first two thirds of “Blackout”), but for the most part it’s fast, fast, fast. Astwülf’s Kurt Brecht-isms, occasional channellings of a young Tom Araya, and his complete mastery of English as a fifth (maybe sixth?) language add heaping amounts of sheer drunken charm to Future Decay. He delivers an energetic performance throughout, but he goes absolutely bonkers near the end of “Blackout.” going rapid-fire with convincing results. Elsewhere, “Eaten Dust Overlord” will have you rallying against overlords… who eat dust, I think.

You may notice the score at the end and think, “gee, this looks like fun. What’s the hold-up?” It is fun, but it gets super repetitive quickly. It does blend into a single, futuristic, albeit fun song after a while with little variance. Solos here and there do break up things a bit, but they’re not mind-blowing by any stretch. Production-wise, it’s solid standard speed metal with little thrills, but it does a good job at making sure the bass cuts through the razor-sharp guitars. Also, who doesn’t love a good gang-shouted chorus?

Despite my score, though, there is a lot of drunken, post-apocalyptic fun to be had with Future Decay. If you miss the days of early D.R.I. (and really, who doesn’t?), this is right up your alley. Just make sure the brain gets turned back on after. [Fuck the brain! — Steel “Possessed to Skate” Druhm].

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 256kbps MP3
Label: Hells Headbangers Records
Website: Facebook.com/COTOfficial
Release Date: Out Worldwide 08.19.2014