Downer - Grater Scrape (1994)

Once upon a time in Perth lived a band called Dumptruck. In this time Death Metal was gaining some serious momentum in Perth, Nebula, Grimoire, Suffrence and FOD were just a few of the bands of this genre in 94, but Downer would have been the biggest. After some years of local attention they became noticed by a US band of the same name and after threats of litigation were pretty much forced to change their name. Thus Downer was born.

In the modern day we have diversified metal into so many subgenres that it can be hard to get back to basics, and that doesn't always work when reviewing. The best way to describe this CD would be to use modern metal bands as examples. If we choose a local band, Grotesque would be a fine example as they exhibit some of the same traits as Downer: they both are very detuned, aggressive in style and tone, Deathy as fuck vocals, and as heavy as sin but with an underlying groove within the violence. But Downer took to the groove more often than Grotesque, were lower tuned and bassier in mix, and generally the drumwork was a bit simpler to really make the groove explode. There are some moments where they go more hell for leather and they sound a lot more in the vein of the modern Brutal Death sound, but overall the handwork is not even close to Trev's speed. The tradeoff? Heavy as a steamroller but still Moshy as fuck.

Most albums you hear you can trace a central music influence but also detect fringe elements that are influences in a a more peripheral way. With Downer's "Grater Scrape" I hear death Metal with a death Metal Chaser and a garnish of death metal. It is like they discovered Death and that was the end of their journey, and they set to creating a Death metal album of purity, undiluted by the rest of the world's many varying music styles. I hear elements of all the greats of the genre and the era here, Entombed, Boltthrower, Obituary, Morbid Angel and more are all there if you listen for them, but it is the more groove-oriented DM bands like Carcass, Pungent Stench, Gorefest and maybe Brujeria that seem to have the strongest grip on the Downer sound.

With the average song length on "Grater Scrape" less than 3 minutes long, it comes as somewhat of a relief that there are 15 tracks on the CD, but it is strange that the CD has most of the more brutal material early on and the more moshy songs in the second half. Even in 94 when I bought the CD for the first time I thought the mix was pretty crap, and with a mix so low, muddy and bassy that it can be hard to hear the tune at all at times, it is only in the groovier kind of songs that I enjoy this album. Something else that made Downer unique in their time was their sense of humour, they didn't take themselves very seriously at all. This becomes obvious when you read in their track listing such songs as "Who stepped in Dogshit" and the Ren and Stimpy inspired "Don't whizz on the electric fence".

Downer has long since split and most of them seem to have disappeared, with the exception of the drummer Royce who apparently now hits skins for The Devil Rides Out. Everyone who knew them though will tell you that they were good guys, the Dumptruck/Downer crew loved their piss and parties and were always good for a laugh, particularly the bassist Nathan, a top bloke for sure. Which is why it is ironic that the most poignant memory I have of Downer is a nasty one. In about 93 or 94 I went to see a show at - correct me if I'm wrong - Navigators Nightclub with Nebula, Downer and Allegiance. I had had some very good hash just before going in, and when Downer came on the shit they were playing was so heavy sounding that I started to trip out, and had to get the fuck out of the place. I never forgot that moment.

I'm not sure if that is a testament to Downer and their one and only CD "Grater Scrape", but they were the only band I ever saw that actually freaked me out.

That's Metal.

Review by Jez.