The Iron Icon

On 1995's Iron Icon, Clay People dish out some extremely loud and abusive industrial noise. The music is repetitive in sonic texture, lyrical concept, and also in its bludgeoning tone. Song like "Victim" and "We Are All Sick" start off on a crushingly hostile note and proceed amazingly to build on it. Synths, drum machines, and guitars all seem to be layered indefinitely until the shear weight of the record becomes almost too much to bear. There are noisier and nastier groups than Clay People, but somehow there's a directness to this group that enhances what would otherwise be their standard industrial soundscapes. Dan Neet's incessant vocal grind, is a big part of this essence that makes Clay People different. Owing a little to his industrial predecessors, Neet's vindictive holler doesn't sound too special at first, but, after a few passes, Iron Icon and the vocalist will get under the skin of many listeners. The accusations, the maliciousness -- it all starts to feel almost personal, like an irrational yet dangerous voice in one's head, threatening, and making up masochistic fantasies and lies. Clay People probably wouldn't have it any other way.