by Derric Miller
— Managing Editor—
The Sioux Falls, S.D. music scene doesn’t have the same poetic resonance as “The Seattle Scene,” but when it’s consistently one of the best cities to raise a family in, one of the Top 10 cities where to retire and even Forbes Magazine chooses it as the 2017 #1 small city for business and careers … there’s not a lot of economical struggles or even societal woes to bring out depressive angst or a smothering fear of the future.
Things are good in Sioux Falls.
That doesn’t mean the music scene wasn’t rife with talent around the same time Grunge was giving Seattle an eternal nickname. Bands like Violet had the talent and songwriting ability to make it on any world stage; Janitor Bob and the Armchair Cowboys gave Sioux Falls “The Happy Song,” the polar opposite of “Smells Like Teen Spirit” and truly a favorite locally-grown song of almost everyone in Sioux Falls 40 or older; hell, even an acoustic mostly comic duo The Cartwright Brothers wrote their own “American Pie” timeless classic with “Rollercoaster Ride,” an everyman song. Sioux Falls had the talent … but they didn’t always have THE METAL.
That was until Closet Monster was formed.
Their 1996 release What’s Inside Trixie’s Closet? came after dozens of shows formulating their professional stage presence and live abilities. Vocally, Jon Koopman owns a relaxed, hyper-melodic and flowing vocal ability–you will never hear him strain to hit a note. But they had a secret weapon in South Dakota Rock and Roll Music Association inductee Jeff Koller too, who isn’t just a maniacal and explosive drummer but who brought top-tier backing vocals as well. (Currently, Koller drums for The Ron Keel Band, who recently signed a record deal with Dave Ellefson’s EMP Label Group for the release of a new studio album.) Guitarist Mike Dresch is known today as one of the region’s best producers/engineers with his Cathouse Studios. As a unit, Closet Monster had it all, and thanks to Grooveyard Records, if you missed What’s Inside Trixie’s Closet? the first time, you can pick it up now.
Note: Grooveyard Records changed the band’s title to Closet Monster 96 on the release to avoid marketplace confusion with other bands of the same name and to honor the year the album was released.
Opening with the atmospheric “The Way It Has to Be,” you’ll be pulsing to Brian Masek’s thrumming bass line, which drives the song until the riffing starts. Some people have compared Koopman’s vocal style to Ozzy Osbourne, which is fair and off course at the same time. Koopman articulates, he bites the words off for perfect clarity–Ozzy was known to perhaps slur a few lines here and there … for decades. Koopman also has more power, and sings in a more throaty manner. But when Ozzy was at the top of his sobriety game, it’s a somewhat fair comparison in his lower singing range. Like most of the songs, the choruses are the brightest point; their ability to write a catchy, instantly memorable chorus was their main songwriting strength.
If you are a bass fan, again, Masek gets things moving on “Running Blind,” another song that slowly builds and crescendos into a dual riff race with Dresch and Mike Pennock, the other guitarist who brought a less clinical and more freestyle facet to the band’s sound. “Running Blind” is one of those adrenaline-infused Metal anthems, with Koopman delivering some of his best vocals. The quality backing vocals again on the chorus are something you just didn’t hear much from any Metal bands at this time, and they could recreate that perfection in a live setting too, as they did numerous times at Sioux Falls’ legendary The Pomp Room bar.
For some reason, the band was stuck on the idea of “time.” They wrote three songs about that construct, with “Time Will Tell Its Tale,” “No Time” and indirectly the one skip-able song on the release, “Wait for No One.” That last song has lyrics like, “Is there a chance in hell you just might have a brain, or is the reason why you’re late cuz you’re insane?” The band must have had zero patience.
Regardless, the best song on What’s Inside Trixie’s Closet? is “No Time.” This nearly seven-minute composition weaves an older Queensryche vibe into its haunting, foreboding musical story. This is the song that could have made Closet Monster a household name to metalheads everywhere. The surprising aspect, as it is a pared down, slower, more plodding track is that Koopman owns the entire vocal spotlight–both in the verses and chorus. “Close the door … I’ve shut my eyes! Now there’s no more time for me … no more time, for my dreams.” It makes sense as you listen; Koopman sings with such human authenticity, and the lyrics intrinsically call for one man to tell this tale.
There’s just so much quality here. “Low” and “Someday” are both sheer rockers, that are more fun than foreboding like some of the album, and Koller shows off his lead vocal chops on a song that hearkens back to a bit more Classic Rock nuance on “Box of Clues,” which also features some of the album’s best guitar leads and solos.
It’s unfortunate that this is one of those “lost gems,” because if you like Metal, you should find it in your damn closet or cloud, wherever you keep your CDs or digital music today. Fortunately for you, if you don’t have the original, you can pick up the re-release. And you should.
Sioux Falls is too happy of a place to ever create an entire existential, depressing and drug-gorged musical scene, but music doesn’t have to be an exploration in personal pain to be a movement. It can also be a headbanging celebration. Closet Monster–or Closet Monster 96 here–is proof of that.
Genre: Metal
Band:
Jon Koopman (Lead Vocals & Keyboards)
Mike Dresch (Guitar & Vocals)
Mike Pennock (Guitar)
Brian Masek (Bass, Guitar, Keyboards & Vocals)
Jeff Koller (Drums & Vocals)
Tracklisting:
01. THE WAY IT HAS TO BE
02. RUNNING BLIND
03. LOST
04. TIME WILL TELL ITS TALE
05. NO TIME
06. EVERY ROLL WILL ROCK
07. LOW
08. WAIT FOR NO ONE
09. SOMEDAY
10. BOX OF CLUES
11. RAM IT
Website:
www.grooveyardrecords.com/closetmonster96.html
Hardrock Haven rating: 
(9 / 10)
