About.com Rating



Austrian Death Machine is the tongue in cheek solo project from As I Lay Dying's Tim Lambesis. He brought in a whole bunch of his friends to help out, and Total Brutal includes guest appearances from Eyal Levi and Emil Werstler (Daath), Adam Dutkiewicz (Killswitch Engage), Nick Hipa (As I Lay Dying) and several more.

The concept behind Total Brutal is Arnold Schwarzenegger movies. Every song is based on a different one of the governator's flicks.


There's also a marginal Arnie impersonator that does humorous in between songs banter. If you know Schwarzenegger's movies, you'll recognize song titles like "It Is Not A Tumor," "If It Bleeds We Can Kill It" and "Rubber Baby Buggy Bumpers."

The lyrics are funny and juvenile and tongue in cheek, but Austrian Death Machine is serious about the music. It's pretty similar to As I Lay Dying, which is no surprise. There are elements of metalcore and thrash, and every song has a blazing guitar solo. The songs are very catchy, and the cheesy lyrics make them that much more memorable.

Total Brutal won't cure cancer, unlock the mysteries of the universe or enlighten you, nor is it meant to. It's a fun project from Tim Lambesis that will make you laugh, and the quality of the music makes it more than a novelty.

(released July 22, 2008 on Metal Blade Records)