This album was my first foray into heavy music. The first time I heard Klank was on Kansas City’s local alternative rock station 105.9 The Laser. Every Sunday morning they played two hours of the latest christian rock songs based off of the now defunct “The Pure Rock Report”. One Sunday amidst the usual grungy alt-rock and pop influenced modern rock, they played a song that was so heavy compared to the rest, that I could have sworn it was the heaviest death metal band Christendom had ever laid ears on. That song was “Downside” by Klank. As soon as I heard it, I dug out my copies of 7Ball magazine to find an ad for the album which I had remembered seeing. The ad seemed just as frightening as the song, I could have sworn that it was Pin Head of “Hell Raiser” on that cover. To make a long story short Klank’s brand of heavy music piqued my interest, so much so that I dove in head first to anything Tooth and Nail Records, and then later Solid State labeled as heavy. As we all know, Klank is not death metal by ANY stretch of the imagination. Their 1996 album Still Suffering is Industrial Metal of the highest quality. The album may be one of the heaviest Industrial albums ever made. Compared to Marilyn Manson and Nine Inch Nails at the time, in my opinion Still Suffering sounds nothing like either one, and is a heck of a lot heavier than anything either band put out. It is no surprise that Klank would take the heavy Industrial sound of Circle of Dust to a more metallic level as Darren Dialosa, the man behind the band, was that band’s guitarist. The album had plenty of firepower as the aformentioned “Downside”, “Scarified”, “Deceived”, “Animosity”, and “Woodensoul” are all heavier than an anvil. Lyrically the album scours the darker, human side of a hurting believer, matching the music perfectly. With Still Suffering, Klank crafted an album that in my opinion has stood the test of time, and one that I still listen to today.
The Sounds of Yesterday 