by Jim Harper
Music for a Slaughtering Tribe is the debut album from electro icon Rudy Ratzinger (aka :wumpscut:). Opener &Soylent Green& sets the tone for the album, all blistering mechanized beats and dark, distorted vocals. However, Ratzinger possesses a sense of melody and an eclectic approach that is generally absent from purveyors of this kind of music. :wumpscut:'s music, therefore, has more in common with Skinny Puppy than fellow countrymen Die Krupps. Sometimes the tracks stretch on for a little longer than is perhaps necessary, but there are enough ideas here to keep things interesting. If one can get past Ratzinger's overly serious tone, then Music for a Slaughtering Tribe has plenty to recommend it. Album highlights: &Soylent Green,& the pounding &Fear in Motion,& and the creepy, sample-driven &She's Dead.&