The Cory Smoot Experiment – When Worlds Collide – Album Review

Even in the metal world, more people knew Flattus Maximus than Cory Smoot. As a band, GWAR dwarfs its individual elements with their amazing stage presence and adherence to their alien roots. With the posthumous release of Smoot’s side project The Cory Smoot Experiment, we are left with such a dichotomy: a window into Cory’s individual and immense talent but also an ending to what was, and would surely have been, a wonderful career.

While Cory worked on ‘When Worlds Collide’ in his spare time (you know when GWAR wasn’t destroying everything in sight while on tour) it doesn’t feel at all like a part-time effort. In fact, it is remarkably consistent – for an interesting reason.

Initially, Cory wanted to have some friends do guest vox on some tracks but eventually, due to conflicts, he did them all himself. While some songs are light on the lyrics, he does a great job showing his range both musically AND vocally – and it works!

His guitar mastery is evident on every song. ‘The Blood Red’ has tons of hooks, riffs and signature solos that are also evident on GWAR tracks. The fun is there, as is the talent. But where things get interesting are on tracks like ‘Mandatory Purgatory’, my favorite song on the album. This tune has a true death metal feel in both the vocal delivery and the brutal pacing and crushing drums. Smoot is going for the jugular on this one, and it is really satisfying. Other tracks like ‘Mutilation’ experiment with some slower pacing, contributing to the variety of the album.

While the second half of ‘When Worlds Collide’ is not as defined as the first, it delivers exactly what Cory was going for – building on his strengths while incorporating new ideas. Worthy of more than one listen and destined to bring a tear to the eye thinking of what might have been.

“Cory Smoot is one of the great unsung heroes of metal. His musical abilities transformed GWAR from a splatter-thrash phenomena into a top metal act. And though he may have left us way too early, he left us a lifetime of music to listen to. He tore it up like few others, and will always be remembered as the true Flattus Maximus. We really loved the man, and there is not a day that goes by or a GWAR show that is played where he is not sorely missed”

–Dave Brockie, a.k.a. Oderus Urungus, lead singer of GWAR

1. The Blood Red
2. Fortunate Son
3. Religion is Fiction
4. Rebirth
5. Brainfade
6. Mandatory Purgatory
7. Countdown to Oblivion
8. The Gauntlet
9. When Worlds Collide
10. Mutilation
11. Hollow Tree
12. Sloth Loves Chunk

When Worlds Collide is available at metalblade.com/smootfamilyfund – where fans can listen to samples from the album as well as donate to the Smoot Family Fund.

http://www.metalblade.com/smootfamilyfun