“I wanted to do something big. When I saw how tall Dan (Milligan) is, I knew it was the right project for me. Also I hate Joy.” – Marcus Eliopulos
How can you not love that? We initially discovered joy in The Joy Thieves (Sorry, Marcus!) when a certain Chris Connelly was announced to be involved in some sort of way. Now I’m not saying that Connelly should be involved in EVERY band out in the world today but I’m also not against it. The latest project the elder statesman of the Industrial Revolution is involved in feature no less than ten members from all walks of musical life on their debut EP alone! And that’s barely touching the surface of The Joy Thieves ever evolving and growing line up.
But I digress.
Supergroup doesn’t necessarily refer to the talent here (Although they definitely have that in excess) as much as the actual size of the group, nay collective. One could make a whole post about the various members of The Joy Thieves without even touching upon the actual music. We’re not going to do that here. So in the interest of time, and because we’re anxious to tell you about the tunes, we’ll just say that if you’re a fan of any facet that Ministry, Ashes Divide, Murmuur, Stabbing Westward, Mary’s Window, Spyderbone, 16Volt, RevCo, Pigface, Machines of Loving Grace, and Sons of the Silent Age has to offer then you better pay attention.
But I digress 2.0.
There are not enough bands out there today with songs about themselves. Snot come to mind as do Black Sabbath and Bad Company. And now you can add The Joy Thieves to that club. On the opening of their debut EP, The Joy Thieves deliver a barrage of aural chaos akin to a more abrasive Dead Kennedys ditty. “This Will Kill That”, on the other hand has those droning guitars and syncopated beats synonymous with Industrial. Then you add Connelly’s unmistakable pipes to the proceedings and conclude the whole thing with this Ministry meets Bile viciousness and you have the recipe for fabulousness.
“Chemical Dreams” is akin to current Cubanate with the gruff vocal approach that fits nicely when delving into this twisted play on the chorus from “Sweet Dreams” while “Tempting The Flames” dives into anthem territory and sounds like a new Gravity Kills jam. “Violent Lucidity” is like a mix of Cocksure and A Mind Is A Terrible Thing To Taste-era Ministry in that it has the glorious bass and percussion build up to a climax like no other. The climax in question is “Honeycomb And Silk” which is simply fantastic. Sounding like nothing you’ve ever heard and everything you’ve ever heard at the same time, there’s snarling and tribal pounding and anthemic cries and sweet chorus lead ups and just everything you’d expect from a group comprised of everything and the kitchen sink.
This Will Kill That will be out through Armalyte Industries on June 28th. You can pre-order yours right now by clicking here. For the latest on The Joy Thieves, including reveals of more of their collaborators, head on over here.