CoC : Rorschach Test - Peace Minus One : Review

Rorschach Test - _Peace Minus One_
(E-magine, 2000)
by: Aaron McKay (4 out of 10)

I loathe to say that college psychology 101 rears it attractively-challenged head again. The Rorschach Test, if my memory serves me correctly, was considered to be what most in the field called "projective". As I understand projective tests, they endeavor to measure an individual's personality based on the theory that people tend to project their own unconscious perceptions and outlooks into ambiguous situations. Of course, the Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach (1884-1922) garnered somewhat of a respected standing surrounding this school of thought. This leads me back to the _Peace Minus One_ release by Seattle's Rorschach Test. RT released some previous material on the now defunct Slipdisc Records, namely _Unclean_ in 1998. About that time, from what I understand, _Unclean_ stirred up the Seattle scene a little bit. Today RT's current offering, _PMO_, would put the listener in mind of solution including Pro-Pain, Ministry, Skinny Puppy and a tablespoon worth of KMFDM bleeding together on the tie-dye canvas of a white t-shirt. This is my first exposure to RT and my impression is of a pseudo-social agenda designed band with more-or-less sophomoric lyrics. Sometimes the groove that Rorschach Test finds itself in is catchy, like on track four, "Shocking", but more often than not it is grating and pesky. I think Hermann Rorschach wanted his projective test to measure people's unconscious outlooks on situations, but his namesake band whips-up a few very conscious perceptions of their music that I wish I could say were more positive.

(article published 12/8/2000)