Take a vocalist who once believed himself to be called to be a preacher,
add a couple of guitar players and a keyboard player/programmer, and a
metal/industrial/techno sound, and you have something similar to Seattle's
"Rorschach Test." The band was formed in 1992 by vocalist James Baker and guitarist Richard Anderson, and also includes guitarist Kris Geren and keyboardist/programmer Troee. They have just released their first album, "Unclean," on Slipdisc Records.

The album opens with the industrial rocker "Satan," a song which lead
singer James says is about the fact that all evil we do as humans comes back to us. His growling vocals combined with the heavy guitar/keyboard sounds make this song an appealing opener. This is followed by the urgent speed metal of the second song, "Elvis," which in a tongue-in-cheek way blames Elvis for all the world's problems, much in the way fundamentalists blamed Elvis (and subsequently the Beatles) for all the nation's problems during the time they were popular.

The third track is an unbelievable, yet catchy, techno metal cover version
of the old Berlin song, "Sex." I wasn't really paying attention to the track
listing on the CD cover the first time I listened to the CD, and when I heard this song start, my first thought was "Oh no! They couldn't . . ." However, on repeated listening I really do like their take on this song.

The keyboard programming offers the perfect backdrop for the dark, drug
addiction song, "Cripple Touch," which is the next song on the CD. As the lead singer angrily wails lines like: "Give me a kiss after I wipe off this blood. Did I hear you sigh or were you draining and gagging," his vocals are punctuated by the keyboard and drum sounds generated. This segues nicely into the very apt, on-target "Blow Up America." It immediately opens with the line: "Today somebody tried to blow up America. They got a day-care school instead." The vocals are screamed in this song, which makes the band's apparent dismay at the current state of the country apparent.

Fiery guitar work and high-energy keyboards fuel the song "Wheel of
Misfortune," a song that tells the story of a wasted, useless life. This song, minus the depressing theme and scorching metalesque vocals, would sound almost like an industrial dance track. The album then features a soft (by "Rorscach Test" standards), intelligently written song, "Song for Other Me." This introspective song shows the mental processes of an abused child.

Benjamin Anderson is able to demonstrate some of his speed guitar mastery on the song "Monster," while the ambient "Lament" tells of Lucifer being cast out of Heaven for his beliefs. The album features four other tracks, including a nine-minute mix of the song "Elvis," to close out the album.

All-in-all, listeners are treated to nearly 65 minutes of loud, inventive,
thrash/industrial music. The keyboard programming on this album is quite
amazing, as is the guitar work of Benjamin Anderson. This is an admirable first effort, and fans of industrial music probably would not be disappointed in "Rorschach Test." I suggest checking it out.