Industrial Revolt

Getting intimate with Kevorkian Death Cycle.

In the future, all music will be bound to sex with idolatry, porno toys, money shots, metal clips, wrestling holds and leather straps. I know, that’s stupid. But so is much of the overloaded industrial/porn/goth/metal/S&M scene. Industrial music, in par-tic-u-lar, seems halted as the world waits for Nine Inch Nails’ The Fragile and Marilyn Manson’s Last Tour On Earth.

Yes, these are more mainstream versions of industrial. But if Trent Reznor’s dull performance on the MTV Awards and Manson’s slow CD and concert sales last year are any indication, an abdication may be imminent.

Until that time, there are stacks of new bologna-tossing, porn-savoring, sexed-up techno-industrial types waiting in the wings. Take for instance Society 1, part of a goth/industrial triple-bill at Evolution on Sunday. Led by singer/porno flick director Matt Zane, the band, with their Slacker Jesus (Inzane), has made what could be the perfect crystal methed-up techno-metal soundtrack to any of Zane’s films.

Or Philly’s own Tech-9. On their debut EP Domination, singer Octavio (promoter of flashy latex industrial parties, like this show, under the Futurist Coalition and Vesago banners), Vince, Lucifer and Mach 1 make digital, sequence-heavy metal noise with dense rhythms. Plus they dress like a cross between Kiss and the Plasmatics, which is always fun.

But the real highlight of the evening — the band that puts the "ech" back in techno, the "dust" into industrial — is Riverside, CA’s Kevorkian Death Cycle. Riverside, near the dreaded (Charlie) Manson Family industrial complex in Spahn Ranch, is a somewhat haunted area, giving rise to nihilistic industrial bands like Hate Dept., Penal Colony and the William S. Burroughs-inspired Interzone.

With all those psychotronic reference points and bull antlers around ’em, you’d think Kevorkian Death Cycle’s Ryan Gribbin and Roger Jarvis would be really loathsome and near-murderous types. But these guys play serious synthetic industrial rock with razor-sharp guitar lines and death-knell messages.

"Honestly, none of us are very interested in the whole Manson thing," says Gribbin from an Arizona stop along their Free Jack (Kevorkian) tour. "And I have respect for Burroughs and enjoy his twisted stories but I’m actually more of an Arthur C. Clarke fan."

If you could compress sci-fi futurist Clarke’s lonely-planet-boy attitude into one band — then piss them off real good — it would create A+O(M), Death Cycle’s third CD on Philadelphia’s Metropolis label. Formerly known as Grid, these two gentlemen create savage sounds with savage words laced with the smell of rotting human decline.

"Our songs are just about life or death, depending on how you look at it," notes Gribbin, simply. "Some people even think the lyrics are romantic."

But KDC are hoping fans of their music understand.

"We want to draw out emotions," says Gribbin. "I would hope the KDC listener is true to themselves, whatever decision they must make."

That "decision," more often than not, in songs like "Escape" parts 1 and 2, and in their promotional materials, refers to infamous suicide doctor Jack Kevorkian, currently in jail. Since their Grid days, Gribbin and Jarvis have been united in their crusade as right-to-die advocates. They get as much hate mail for the name as they do respect. They’re touring with the Kevorkian Death Street Squad, a fan activist group that hands out right-to-die literature. "We have and still do receive lots of questions concerning Kevorkian. Honestly, it’s just our name although we do believe in his cause. I just don’t want to claim to represent him," says Gribbin.

When asked if either member has met Kevorkian or had any experience in real-life euthanasia, Gribbin gives a terse "no comment."

Yet for all their noise — industrial mixed with vicious hammering punk — and all their woes, I bet Kevorkian Death Cycle like to have fun.

When asked if they’ve had sex with the Street Squad types, Gribbin laughs: "Not yet." When asked if they’re prepared to tour with Society 1 and porno king Matt Zane and ready for whatever comes their way, you can hear a Cheshire grin cracking as Gribbin says, "It’s all good."

Kevorkian Death Cycle, Tech-9 and Society 1 with DJ Schmitty and Knobhead, Sun., Sept. 26, Evolution, 1517 N. Delaware Ave., 9 p.m.-3:30 a.m., 215-634-0100.