Sounding like Nitzer Ebb on a collision course with Iggy & The Stooges as tough techno bangs and rolls along in the background, it’s the product of three years of writing and recording. “I wanted to make something that would last, an album that I could play to my kids in years to come and I knew I had to work with a singer in a song structure,” explains Phil Kieran, one-third of Alloy Mental and Northern Ireland’s most respected electro and techno producer and remixer. A softly-spoken studio maverick who has put out music on Skint, Kingsize and Bugged Out and who numbers Agoria, T.Raumschmiere and Nitzer Ebb among his remix clients. “The only problem was that most male singers I heard were like a poppy version of Dave Gahan and all the female vocalists sounded like they were singing in a tampon ad,” he laughs.
Martin Corrigan had tasted success as the frontman of the band Corrigan with their 2003 debut album. However, Martin didn’t want to stand still and, just as Kieran was looking for a vocalist, he was making plans to ‘do something different’. “I had been a solo artist before Corrigan and I wanted to write songs just without a drummer,” Martin says. “We knew Phil from Belfast and he had heard our CD and was open to new ideas, so Alloy Mental came about naturally. Most musicians are flaky bastards who just want to drink and chase women, so it was refreshing to meet someone who is so determined and professional.”
However, Martin admits that Alloy Mental could have easily descended into ‘a battle between a techno producer and a songwriter’, had it not been for guitarist Danny Todd, also a member of Corrigan and founder of another combo, Cashier No 9. “It took a lot of time to work out where we wanted to take it, so Danny came in as the musician and interpreted our melodies and arrangements, and he looks fucking class on stage,” Martin admits.
To date, Alloy Mental have only played a few live gigs, but they have been unforgettable experiences, opportunties to roadtest the trashy guitars and hypnotic keyboards of ‘Gotta Love’ and the evil bass of ‘I Am’ and ‘Listen’, which resurrects the menacing throb of 80s ebm as Corrigan spits and screams bile. “There is just a guitarist, a keyboardist and a vocalist. There’s no drummer and it looks so fucking strange,” Martin rasps. “It feels like a rock concert crossed with a rave. We’re dressed in black, wear armbands like Front 242, and sound like a 747 has crash-landed in your sitting room.”
Alloy Mental’s ability to fuse rock and dance music – contrast the jagged, Pixies-style guitars of ‘So Silent’ and ‘Stick It In Yaow Neck’ with the slamming electro and techno of ‘Streets On Fire and ‘We Have Control’ – also means that their gigs have united a cross-section of ravers, Goths and indie kids. In short, it’s a sociologist’s wet dream. “When we do gigs, punks and people who read Kerrang turn up, as much as people who go to clubs,” Phil says, while Martin adds that Alloy Mental’s dance background means the audience ineracts with the band. “Most rock audiences are pretty conservative, they don’t dance, but because our sound has a techno element, there is a lot more energy. It also works the other way: clubbers have been starved of human interaction, so they go mad at our shows because there is a singer.”
The album contains the mellow ‘Light’, which descends into a droning guitar mantra and the reflective ‘Seconds’, where Martin sings about ‘hectic women’ because Martin believes “you need balance, you can’t headbutt your audience in the face all the time. Having said that, when I’m on stage with Phil and Danny, it feels like I’m standing with my back to a jet engine on full blast.”
Time to go Alloy Mental!
Alloy Mental
Alloy Mental Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
times are changing
this worlds arranging
there's a blind side meaning
a system a system upon us
dark star space will be filled
dark star time will be killed
old world dreaming
this worlds screaming
a system a system upon us
fire fire fire fire
Alloy mental body blueprint
a system upon us
times are arranging
this worlds changing
there's a blind side meaning
this worlds screaming
old world dreaming
this worlds changing
old world dreaming
this worlds screaming
there's a blind side meaning
this worlds screaming
a system a system upon us
The lyrics of Alloy Mental's self-titled song speak to the idea of a system that is upon us, with times changing and the world rearranging itself. The repetition of the phrase "a system upon us" throughout the song creates a sense of urgency and the feeling that something big is happening. The idea of a blind side meaning suggests that there are hidden or obscured meanings that we might not be aware of, further contributing to a feeling of uncertainty and unease.
The lyric "dark star space will be filled, dark star time will be killed" adds to the ominous tone of the song, with dark star perhaps representing an idea of the unknown or the future that we can't predict. The line "Alloy mental body blueprint" could be interpreted as a reference to the idea that we are all part of a larger system, with each of us contributing to something bigger.
The repetition of "this world's screaming" towards the end of the song adds to the sense of urgency and strife that the lyrics suggest, with the idea that the world is in a state of turmoil and perhaps even a state of crisis. Overall, the lyrics of Alloy Mental's song present a cautionary tale about the uncertainties of the future and the potential dangers of a system that is beyond our control.
Line by Line Meaning
a system upon us
The world is under the control of a certain system
times are changing
The world is currently undergoing changes
this worlds arranging
The world is being set up in a certain way
there's a blind side meaning
There is a hidden interpretation or purpose to things
a system a system upon us
The world is under the control of a certain system
dark star space will be filled
The future will be bright and full of hope
dark star time will be killed
The past will be forgotten and overshadowed by the future
there's a blind side meaning
There is a hidden interpretation or purpose to things
old world dreaming
Nostalgia for the past
this worlds screaming
The world is in a state of chaos
a system a system upon us
The world is under the control of a certain system
fire fire fire fire
An expression of urgency and intensity
Alloy mental body blueprint
A reference to the artist's name
a system upon us
The world is under the control of a certain system
Contributed by Luke W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@mahatechx
Definitely one the most impressive tracks in modern electronic music
@marcosleoncio1409
Pqp 🎧🎧
@EXOTEKCREW
Dans le bac de vinyl et il aura tourné 🎧 🎼
Chaque fois que je l’écoute il me ramène dans ma jeunesse ✌️
@danielblue8
zajebisty kawałek !!!
@ModeMan101
Real shame they didn't stay together, I was looking forward to another album.
@beatapienkos5888
Suuuper 😎😍😍
@charlieparkeris
I forgot the name of this, and what it sounded like, but remembered its existence, my first Google search to find it was "shine belfast 2006 lineup", and amazingly, the first link I clicked was a lineup from 2006 that included "Alloy Mental Live", I wasn't even sure if it was 2006 when they were about. I'm a great Googler. I watch jeopardy at 5.
Almost 20 years ago, for goodness gracious me. Look at us all now. Old.
@lenagross7134
Geil🤘
@Zugudema
FIRE!!
@lillipromilli
2023 direkt vom Tor 3 als wärs gestern gewesen