Review Summary: Fever dream grunge metal
Welcome to the strange world of Drain STH, a place located halfway between grunge and alternative metal where the music is always catchy but with a dark undertone, and you’re never sure what it’s about or what to expect.
From what I recall, Drain STH claimed their lyrics were inspired by nightmares, and in many ways, the music feels like a strange and vaguely scary dream, with heavy riffs and low, monotone vocals creating an eerie mood and lyrics about weird, hard to explain but usually dark situations. The best example of that would be "Enter my Mind", with its creepy distorted riff, weird singing and lyrics about exploring the tormented mind of a mysterious dying character, who assures us that "I'm losing you but you will always be mine". And yes, that kind of strange songs can stick in your mind, so in a way, once you discover Drain STH, they will always remain in the back of your mind. "Get Inside" seems like another song about exploring a dark mind, and has a really sinister heavy riff, where even the "Yeah, yeah" sounds creepy.
Continuing the dark explorations, "Crave" is similarly haunting, with its heavy and hypnotic riff and lyrics about desperately craving something out of reach. "I Will Follow" has eerie distorted instruments, verses sung in an eerie melody and lyrics about going down some creepy path, from what I can understand. "Leech" has similar distortion, and has the narrator playing a sort of manipulative leech-like monster. "Black" is about pure despair, with a "Now I'm losing who I am, black is black" chorus.
Even the somewhat more ligtht-hearted songs have a dark and unsettling undertone. "Alive" has a chorus that seems to celebrate being alive, but the monotone vocals and heavy riffs, and verses about suffering show us that this is not a simple song celebrating life, but rather, about how the narrator is still alive, but damaged. "The Bubble Song" is more upbeat, but has a chorus saying "So, If I rip your skin, eating my way deeper within" in an almost joyful tone. "Simon Says" has a sample of a guy saying "Put your hands in the air, wave them around like you just don't care" on the chorus but it's definitely not a party song, since the lyrics are about desperately needing some leader to follow. "I Wish" is a more typical ballad about missing a loved one, but the verses show an incredibly heart-wrenching despair and self-loathing from the narrator, asking "Am I just too corrosive?" and "Am I just too weak?". "Right Through You" is another ballad, and too "normal" for Drain STH, but has a lot of sadness contained on that one line on the bridge "You were never to be mine".
In many ways, Drain STH were never meant to be ours, since they never were a big success and only made two albums. But they're definitely one of the most interesting of all the obscure, short-lived all-female bands I like to review. They had a really gripping style, with the darkness, distortion and melancholy of grunge, with some metal heaviness added to it. They also have some mysterious and yet weirdly memorable lyrics. They're kind of the most 90s band ever, except few people seem to remember them. And yet they really, really deserve to be remembered. "Freaks of Nature" is the best of their two albums, with the most memorable songs and the most consistent quality. I'd say most songs on it are a must-hear. It's also a great introduction to a truly special band.
