Just as Pitchshifter did a very good Godflesh impression at the start of their career, so October File do an excellent Killing Joke. Hell, they even had Jaz Coleman guest on 2007’s Holy Armour From The Jaws Of God. It’s no secret where their influences lie and this latest opus is no different, the riff for To Be Watched Upon being more than similar to the ’Joke’s Millennium.
And yet they’re great albums anyway, just as Industrial was to Streetcleaner. And it’s a little unfair to dismiss October File as mere Killing Joke copyists when so many other influences shine through. You’ll see glimmers of Grotus, Neurosis and Amebix in The Water, a little Ministry here and there, and a lot more Killing Joke, which, almost despite itself, becomes a new sound of its own.
While it’s true that October File have yet to make a classic album, this, like the three before it, will be among the favourites of the year. If you like the ingredients, you’ll like the band.
