The Classic Metal Album Reviews:

	Title: Lo Flux Tube Artist: OLD Label: Earache Records Release Date: 1991 Rating: 4 Skulls
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Reviewed by Requiem:
Many of you may have never even heard of this band, or if you have you are wondering how it made it into the classics section. Well, in my demented mind this has and always will be a classic for sure. I think it is especially important to bring this album to everyone's attention in a day and age where electronics and technological advances are being more predominantly used into the creation of today's metal music. OLD's Lo Flux Tube, being now 10 years old somehow captured a uniqueness and incredible vision that I have not seen matched by many since. From the cover artwork to the fucked up lyrics to the bizarre sounds heard throughout the album, this is certainly not for everyone. I think there must have been some serious drug influence in the creation of this album and quite truthfully I believe the album can be indulged most successfully in the same frame of mind. Pick your drug of choice, crank this goddamn thing and prepare for one hell of a listening experience.
What it all boils down to is this; You take a band like Rush, lock them in a room with nothing but a steady diet of extreme metal and some really crazy acid. Throw them in the studio about a month later and what you may end up with is something similar to what we have here. I have always found this album to have a really demented Rush vibe going on with it, and the sounds throughout the album are just out of this world. The band consists of 3 members; a bass player (Jason Everman), a singer that has one of the most deranged voices in the history of music today (Alan Dubin) and the mastermind behind all of the rest of the bizarre noises, guitars, samples and drum programming known as Jimmy Plotkin. I bow down to this man for getting the sound that is the result of Lo Flux Tube.
Everything on the album is doused with effects but done tastefully, so that it only enhances the sound and makes this the classic that it is. The guitars have a very strong Rush quality to them and operate heavily on the use of harmonics throughout. Besides the guitars, there are all kinds of mysterious sounds that permeate each and every song. Even saxophone extraordinaire John Zorn makes a guest appearance contributing his two cents to the mayhem. The drum programming has a more human quality than what we are used to hearing on industrial albums, making me think there may have been electronic drums involved. The tempos range from tribal style beats to being purely progressive and chaotic in nature. On top of all the strange sounds, and what I think really gives this the final touch it needs are the vocals of Mr. Dubin. Whether they are doused with effects or not, this man has a voice that would send even Satan himself running for cover. It's very high pitched, almost having a black metal quality, but one that has gone off the deep end and has sadistic overtones. These are just downright the nastiest vocals I've heard, yet they still maintain a special charisma that fits the nature of OLD's twisted sound. Throw all these elements in a large pot, mix them around, add your imagination and try to get an idea of what this sounds like. Bottom line is that you have probably never heard anything like it and your mental picture was miles off.
This is the beauty of OLD and more specifically of Lo Flux Tube. It was completely ahead of its time in 1991 and still sounds futuristic now. The only problem, if I have convinced you to seek this out, is finding it. It is a rarity, being one of the early Earache releases and chances are you'll have to search the bargain bins or hit eBay and hope for the best. I'm pretty sure there are only a few of us cult OLD fans out there so chances are you may get it pretty cheap. But this is abnormal shit, so don't be surprised when your friends start making excuses not to hang out with you. I would like to give it 5 skulls but we'll settle for just 4. That way they won't take me away and throw me in the institution.

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