Them Fixes – “Hey Man Nice Shot” – REVIEW

I grew up listening to Ministry. Seriously. I was introduced to Ministry at ten years old and they instantly became one of my favorite bands. That was in 1993 and pretty much the golden age for industrial bands. Well sort of anyway. The big mainstream industrial act was Nine Inch Nails and if we’re being honest, anything good from Trent Reznor was done by Al Jourgensen a decade before. But I digress. But at the very least Nine Inch Nails being 90s darlings allowed for other acts to get in on the action.

This is where Filter came in. As part of Nine Inch Nail’s touring band, Richard Patrick (brother of Terminator 2’s Robert Patrick. How 90’s is that?) went out on his own and formed Filter. Knowing all the bells and whistles Reznor utilized, Patrick was able to make Filter a more guitar-driven version of Nine Inch Nails. Their breakout single was “Hey Man Nice Shot” in 1995.

The lyrical content about the public suicide of Pennsylvania of Budd Dwyer coupled with a mechanical-esque pulsing bass riff, “Hey Man Nice Shot” became the band’s signature song. But all things must come to an end and once simplified industrials jams were replaced with simplified metal riffs of nu-metal, acts like Filter were left behind. Regardless of how you feel about Filter or that song, it doesn’t hold up well these days. It’s very…90s.

Fast forward to 2020 and just about every fad from yesteryear has made a comeback in some compacity. But where Filter might not be burning up the charts or headlining festivals, their music can live on. Enter one of my current favorite rock acts, Them Fixes. I’ve covered releases from Them Fixes here at 50Thirdand3rd in the past and it feels like I’ve watched this band grow with each track they put out. On this go around, the Nashville twosome offers up their take of “Hey Man Nice Shot”.

Produced by George Pauley of The By Gods and mastered by Dan Shikes, (who has worked with 50Thirdand3rd’s favorite Transylvania Stud) Them Fixes’ is a modern take with minimal changes to the arrangement. The bass is still gnarly, the verses brooding, and the intensity is catastrophic. However, with the modern advances in technology, the urgency has been heightened and the all-around intensity kicked up a few levels. Some of the 90s ‘xtreme dood’ energy has been replaced with poise and focus. By the time the chorus hits, it no longer sounds like someone channeling their best Trent Reznor, it’s someone who means every word.

In just a few short years, Them Fixes have been well on their way to becoming one of hard rock’s most promising young acts. When you can take a song from 1995 and not only make it relevant in 2020 but make it better than the original, that’s saying something!

For more info on Them Fixes, please visit them on Facebook.