⚡ THE HIT RECON: THE REBEL YELL
If their debut was a warning shot, Perversion was a direct hit. Released on June 9, 1998, via TVT Records, Gravity Kills' sophomore effort arrived shrouded in controversy and sheer attitude. The band originally fought to title the record Whore, a move their label immediately panicked over and vetoed. Striking back with just 48 hours left before manufacturing began, they landed on Perversion, packaging the disc inside an aesthetic layout covered in cheeky, mock "Safe Handling Instructions".
To anchor their changing sonic vision, the band teamed up with legendary industrial co-producer Roli Mosimann (renowned for his gritty work with SWANS, Foetus, and Marilyn Manson). Stepping away from the hyper-clean pop sensibilities of their debut, the St. Louis outfit delivered a dark, uncompromisingly heavy record designed to tear faces off in a live arena. It was loud, abrasive, and completely unapologetic.
🎛️ VINYL SCRATCH: THE ALBUM IN REVIEW
Dropping the laser onto Perversion is like standing right behind the jet engine of a crash-landing aircraft. The opening single "Falling" immediately sets the bar, aggressively trading in their old techno-heavy dance loops for a massive wall of guitar fuzz and a relentless, mechanical groove that hits like a sledgehammer. It’s very obvious from the jump that Matt Dudenhoeffer’s guitar has been completely unleashed here, pushing the synthesizers into a supporting role to create a far rawed, more traditional industrial-metal stomp.
The entire record benefits heavily from Roli Mosimann's characteristically filthy production footprint. Tracks like "If" and "Crashing" boast a thick, sludge-ridden bass response that vibrates through your chest, while Kurt Kerns' drumming abandons the cold precision of computerized step-sequencers for an earthy, violent swing. The songwriting is noticeably darker and more complex, choosing to lean into claustrophobic, churning soundscapes that give the heavier guitar arrangements room to breathe and mutate.
Frontman Jeff Scheel sounds absolutely unhinged across these ten tracks. His vocal range pushes further into a frantic, throat-shredding territory, turning tracks like "Alive" and "Wanted" into desperate, sweat-soaked anthems of panic and isolation. While alternative music critics in 1998 were busy scratching their heads because the band refused to replicate the tidy radio hooks of "Guilty," time has treated this record like a fine, toxic wine. The absolute sheer vitriol packed into his delivery makes the record feel visceral and dangerous.
The back half of the record features some of the band's absolute best, most overlooked output. "Disintegrate" is a slow-burning masterpiece of mechanical dread, building up a suffocating layer of distortion until it completely implodes under its own weight. By the time the final, bleak chords of "Belief (To Rust)" echo out, you feel completely exhausted but ready to flip the tape right back over. It didn't achieve the massive commercial heights of their debut, but as a pure, unfiltered expression of late-90s guitar-crushing anger, Perversion stands as the band's most formidable sonic monument.
Ripped to MP3
1."Falling" 4:02
2."If" 4:06
3."Crashing" 3:40
4."Drown" 3:40
5."Alive" 3:52
6."Wanted" 4:04
7."Always" 4:44
8."One" 3:46
9."Disintegrate" 4:40
10."Belief (To Rust)" 4:16
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