"The Killer Dolphin with Rabies held their own & just as you hallucinated a flash back of a civil war reenactment as the group bunched together instruments high in front of the crowd, they CHARGED the crowd.Ã, All this physical fun as instruments were played & played well." - Matthew Stole, word work
"Madison's The Killer Dolphin with Rabies started as an instrumental band, chopping fragments of metal and hardcore into songs that, while convoluted and tricky, had a way of sticking to the gratifying bits. It has since added singer, which doesn't mean the band is simplifying its sound - tunes like "get your ass to mars" remain abrupt and fun, especially for listeners that nerd out over tightly executed tempo changes and speedy, sludged up riffs. Bonus points: The Killer Dolphin with Rabies' repertoire includes a respectable cover of John Murphy's bleak score for 28 Days Later. " -Scott Gordon, The Onion - A.V. club
album rev.
"Madison's The Killer Dolphin with Rabies started as an instrumental band, chopping fragments of metal and hardcore into songs that, while convoluted and tricky, had a way of sticking to the gratifying bits. It has since added singer, which doesn't mean the band is simplifying its sound - tunes like "get your ass to mars" remain abrupt and fun, especially for listeners that nerd out over tightly executed tempo changes and speedy, sludged up riffs. Bonus points: The Killer Dolphin with Rabies' repertoire includes a respectable cover of John Murphy's bleak score for 28 Days Later. " -Scott Gordon, The Onion - A.V. club
"The Killer Dolphin with Rabies. A creative Little prog-hardcore scene is beginning to coalesce here in town, thanks to brutal bands like this." - The Isthmus, Madison Wisconsin
"The Killer Dolphin with Rabies have been kicking around Madison since 2005, but numerous lineup changes and the death of a member has delayed them from ever releasing any substantial recordings. At least, until now. On October 30th the band's debut album Be Human will be unleashed upon Madison during a release party at The Frequency with help from Dissent and Revolt, Cleobury, and The Unnecessary Gunpoint Lecture. In anticipation of the release I blackmailed one band members with compromising pictures to get an advance copy. Be Human is an ambitious debut record, incorporating numerous genres with technical proficiency. And though The Killer Dolphin with Rabies are for all intents and purposes a metal band it is hard to ignore some of the more subtle influential tinges of jazz, hardcore, and math-rock that are scattered throughout the album. I don't know if the band shares my sense of irony but they open Be Human with "If I'm Not Me" a short
electronic introduction that samples Arnold Schwarzenegger repeating the line "Get your ass to Mars" from the 1990 cheese fest film Total Recall. On the second track the band brings on the aural assault of their set list staple "Get Your Ass to Mars." On Mars the band tells a science fiction tale that questions modern technology and it's purposes through Mark Osbourne's primal yawps and the tempo changes that lace the rest of the album. The Killer Dolphins are a lot more cerebral than most of their machismo counterparts relying more on song writing than bravado. Though brainy and well structured, the band still slays with the best of them but it is their mellower, if you can call it that, songs that are the most effective on Be Human. The track "Group Hug at Doppelganger High" begins with the chugging guitars of Derek Reinfried and Alexis Becerra the synchronized drums of Paul Lang and then breaks down quickly into a post rock flavored
jam session about a 1/3 of the way only to regain steam a minute later. The high points, though there are many, is Osbourne's songwriting and it's correlation to the albums title. Most of his songs delve into technology and human interaction separately and together. The other shining moment isn't a moment at all but the production of Be Human. A great deal of metal records are either over compressed or sloppy as all get out, but you can tell that The Killer Dolphin with Rabies made the best of what was certainly a limited budget for this self release. Initially I feared that reviewing a metal record would be a bit out of my wheelhouse, but Be Human proved to be a great initiation to a genre I am by and large ignorant of. The Killer Dolphin with Rabies play with calculated abandon, I know that sounds contradictory but if you listen carefully you will get my point. With the endless listens I have given Be Human I become more intrigued to see where
the band will evolve. Hopefully it won't be another three years before I get my answer."
Joshua James www.Dane101.com
Bio
The Killer Dolphin with Rabies formed in late 2005. The band consists of five musicians, each member having distinct musical experience, adding to the complexity of the band's unique and experimental sound. Over the past three years, the band has made their mark on the Madison music scene with live, energetic, performances and continue to branch out to other Wisconsin communities. Due to the musical diversity, the band has been able to recruit listeners from all genres, from jazz to metal.