Martian Death Lyric - "Tres Extranjeros"
(UGI Records 1998, 7" Vinyl EP)
Martian Death Lyric - "Tres Extranjeros"
(UGI Records 1998, 7" Vinyl EP)
From Aural Innovations #6 (April 1999)
Martian Death Lyric are from Mars. No, it's true! They really are! And they have threatened to reduce the Planet Earth to a parking lot! Well I assume they mean with their music. Musically they are like a cross between Devo and early B-52's playing a raw garage style. Other reviews I've read include Man or Astroman, though I'd say the only comparison with that band is thematic. The bio material and photos depict a three piece but the listed lineup includes four members. They are... are you ready? Replink Slerb on synth, vox, and Minister of Propaganda, Yigrac Eeenk on strings and Tactical Command, Neyek Vieke on x-ray cannons of death and Warp Engineering, and XDP-13 on vox and Spiritual and Missile Guidance. For my money such things are all part of the fun and the music is as well.
Tres Extranjeros is a 4-song EP on dark green vinyl with two vocal tracks and two instrumentals. "MDL's Creed" is what I suppose is the band's theme song. The vocals are an efx'd robotic voice and the music is smashing garage guitar and a cool new wavish organ melody. "Martian Death Lyric is our name. We are all one in the same. Human Crud came we to kill. You to us are no big deal." Whooaah... these guys mean business! "Let's Put The X In Planet X" is an equally zany tune. Again the vocals are efx'd though this time they are high pitched and most certainly are coming from a little green man. I can see why Lyric is part of the band name because lyrically these guys are a riot. "Let's put the X in Planet X. The Rocket in my pocket wants to flex. We'll add some porno to our star treks."
"1 Minute A.D." and "Walk The Xenomorph" are the two instrumental tracks. The former is a short tune that sounds to me like a garage rock version of early B-52's. Xenomorph is a cool track that combines intricate percussion work with that smashing garage guitar. A heavy low-end bass soon comes in giving the music a dark intensity. This is the track that makes me hope these guys don't get compared too much to Man or Astroman because Martian Death Lyric's music is far more varied and interesting. Overall, these four tunes really aroused my interest and hopefully the band is working on a full length release.
You can visit Martian Death Lyric at their web site.
Reviewed by Jerry Kranitz