Sound Surgery

Killbot takes a metal approach to dubstep, perhaps because Korn’s Jonathan Davis is one of the group\'s three producer members. Along with his sidekicks Sluggo and Tyler Blue (who both tend to perform in masks, à la Slipknot), Davis gives dubstep an exaggerated feel that’s mixed with nü-metal aggression. *Sound Surgery* is an apt title for Killbot\'s 2012 EP; the opening title track boasts a big, sharp bass that cuts right through the listener’s body and rattles the sternum. It\'s like standing in front of a subwoofer the size of a jet engine. The rapid-fire beats here are similarly big and bombastic (recalling those from The Prodigy’s 1997 album *The Fat of the Land*), while tweaky techno trappings screech and squiggle with the hardcore approach of Atari Teenage Riot’s *The Future of War*. “Feel Alive” plays more like an emo ballad trimmed with all the sonic accouterments from the preceding song, including a behemoth bass drop and wobble. But just when you think you’ve figured out Killbot’s sound, “Wrecked” drops in hip-hop samples.