Twisted, gruelling… sexy?
Like Jazz and Blues records of the 50s, or Punk in the late 70s, there seems to be a standard look to the artwork for bands such as Die So Fluid. This ‘beautiful breed’ of metal always has a faded style, with a distressed young vixen plastered across the front in some sort of hilarious predicament. And lo!, this album is no exception and so will already hold strong associations before you’ve even turned the stereo on.
Die So Fluid are a female-fronted act, ballsy and intelligent in their delivery. With a typical and trusted meaty, grisly guitar, crackling and cavernous bass backed by sturdy and bitter drums, frontwoman Grog sustains atypical melodies with drawn out notes, occasionally slipping into the grit and grime. Unlike their fellow rockateurs, Die So Fluid seem more approachable, with a sort of pop core to their work, but this has become so beaten and wretched over the years that it is virtually unrecognisable.
The sturdy little outfit comes into their own with well chosen single releases such as the scuttling-then-soaring anthem ‘Existential Baby’ and the strung-out and sadistic death-waltz ‘Happy Hallowe’en’, which has more hooks then a Peter Pan-themed Party for prostitutes.
Providing the listener has an appropriate level of knowledge in the field of recent metal (not ‘nu’), Die So Fluid are one of those exceptions that can be described via their image. With black hair, pale skin, eyeliner, Mohawks and Black clothes, it is unlikely that their second album will rock the foundation of the Alternative Listener. But with a memorable vocal timbre and heartfelt forethought to their compositions, there is enough substance to raise intrigue at the very least.