The End Records | The Medullary Paralysis

After a while spent perusing bands and artists from a myriad of backgrounds and styles, you begin to get a grip on what comprises the music world thematically. Black Metal bands will possess certain connotations and affectations while a Doom metal band will order itself visually and aesthetically according to the characteristics of their sound. You begin to get a sense about bands based upon their visual appearance and presentation of material, which can be a useful sign post for grasping what an artist is about prior to actually listening to their music. Not so in the case of Italy’s The Medullary Paralysis, a band so strange and mind fucking that I had to take of stock of what I was doing before delving into their material!

Decked out in matching head to toe purple jumpsuits, the three members of The Medullary Paralysis espouse a philosophy of no drugs, no drinking and no sex, a moral stance which apparently involves them wearing their uniforms 24/7! The bands’ blog has bizarre photos of them mowing the lawn, shopping for groceries and cooking dinner all whilst draped in their latex finery. While it is extremely gimmicky and eye catching, the band does well supplementing their image with actual musical content.

The hard driving “Routine Matters” comes across like a crazed Gary Numan, flashes of 80's electronic perfection and meticulousness peering out of a snarling squall of aggression. Programmed drums collide with the kind of fuzzed out, distorted guitars that would do Billy Corgan proud. The band cites Marilyn Manson, Tears For Fears and Smashing Pumpkins as prime artistic footnotes, attributions that can definitely be glimpsed in the drum programmed, noisy and hyper aggressive industrial sound these guys channel. Fans of heavier goth inspired electronic rock will definitely find a lot to enjoy in these tracks, songs tempered with equal amounts aggression and polished pop, an interesting and pleasing blend that, if not original, is fun to listen to. The truly bizarre appearance and extra-curricular antics this band displays are notable in of themselves, but The Medullary Paralysis supplants being a joke band with some pretty great tracks lurking behind their purple latex exterior.