The third album from Chicago trio Oozing Wound begins with a backwards guitar wail that puts a fresh twist on the technique Metallica used in the iconic intro to their ...And Justice for All leadoff track “Blackened.” True to form, of course, the prelude gives way to a muscular, uptempo chug as the song, “Rambo 5 (Pre-Emptive Strike)” achieves liftoff, announcing that “okay, now we’re really getting shit started” in stereotypical metal fashion. More importantly, on “Rambo 5” Oozing Wound manage to recapture the energy of classic Slayer, Left Hand Path-era Entombed, and skate punk-rooted metal like Suicidal Tendencies and Excel all in the same riff.
In purely musical terms, Whatever Forever is bound to attract thrash, stoner rock, doom, and punk loyalists as well as people arriving at those particular strains of heaviness for the first time. Metalheads will no doubt recognize how frontman/guitarist Zack Weil howls like a cross between Exodus vocalist Steve “Zetro” Souza and Kreator’s Mille Petrozza. Likewise, now-departed drummer Kyle Reynolds’ fills and thumpa-thumpa-thumpa beats recall genre luminaries like Dave Lombardo and Charlie Benante. By the same token, though, Oozing Wound exude an attitude that immediately distinguishes them from the music they reference—and update—with such convincing skill.
Oozing Wound play with undeniable passion. They also shift gears between tempos with uncanny ease, and their ability to incorporate slower sections gives the faster material an explosiveness it wouldn't otherwise have. As the lava-like churn of “Eruptor” bubbles to a boil and segues into “Tachycardia,” for example, Oozing Wound not only channel High on Fire at their most infernal but also manage to sustain the buildup over both songs. Additionally, engineer Matt Russell’s rendering of bassist Kevin Cribbin’s tone should serve as the ultimate reference for how to capture low end that’s Godzilla-huge—full and imposing, but most of all clear.
All that said, it’s hard to listen to this album and not get the feeling that these guys are making fun of their influences while also honoring them. Despondency, hopelessness, and even outright nihilism can certainly make for engaging music. But when those emotions are worn on the sleeve as affectations, they ring hollow. With Oozing Wound, it’s hard to tell. On their own, the lyrics on Whatever Forever contain vague but nevertheless thought-provoking undercurrents. When Weil sings that “peace is a lie” and that “tonight we will track, and identify spies” on “Rambo 5,” one gets the distinct sense he might be talking about more than the outward silliness that the song title lets on.
The same goes for Weil’s lyrics on “Mercury in Retrograde Virus,” where he sings “Conscious killing keeps the planet spinning.../Can’t fight that kind of breeding/The facts a mask revealing.” But Weil also plays up a fuck-it-all malaise that comes off as a posture and begs you not to care about what he’s saying. As he sneers his way through self-defeatist headbanger anthems like “Diver” and “Everything Sucks, and My Life Is a Lie,” the band’s raucous delivery sounds better suited for the upbeat mood of keg party. On paper, the contrast should make for rich juxtaposition. Instead, Weil and company end up looking like they lack the courage of their convictions.
Oozing Wound deserve credit for standing apart from purist thrash revivalists like Bonded by Blood and Mantic Ritual. Clearly, they intend for their music to serve as a beefier, decidedly modern take on classic forms. But by hiding behind detachment, the music's underlying power ends up getting smothered by its bluster. As engaging as that bluster is at first, over the course of ten songs Whatever Forever begins to grate not unlike a person who tries too hard to look nonchalant when they would hold your attention longer if they just opened up a bit more.
