When Sum
41 first debuted four or five years ago, I got the impression that they were the
typical, new mall punk, flavor of the week. However fun they seemed, and a bit
more original then most of their counterparts in the countless neo-genres of
punk, I didn’t expect too much from the band in the future. WRONG! ‘Chuck’ is a
far cry from Sum 41's past ventures. This may be the most diverse rock album of
the year. It takes you on a rollercoaster of styles from punk to indie to some
of the best metal riffs I've heard in years. The one thing that hasn’t changed
from past albums is the catchy melodies and harmonies that seem to blanket the
whole album. Sum 41 have truly separated themselves from the rest of the
pop-punk crowd with ‘Chuck’, simply because this album doesn’t fit any category
or maybe because it fits in so many categories. Never the less, I totally
recommend this album to anyone in love with guitar rock, break beats, melodic
vocals, metal, punk, hardcore, emo, indi, hip hop, psychedelic rock n fucking
roll! (Dave Evans)
Damn,
Napalm has done it again! I swear, I am NOT on this label's payroll, I'm just
beginning to wonder if they're going to send me something I don't love one of
these days. Free Fall Into Fear is the fourth album from Trail of Tears, and it
is one of the best extreme/melodic hybrids I've heard yet! Aggressive riffing
flows into gothic passages with amazing fluidity, and the dual vocals of Ronny
Thorsen and Kjetil Nordhus compliment as well as they contrast. The sound of
this CD is difficult to describe. Imagine Anthrax getting together with Faith
No More to jam on some Black Sabbath tunes while half the band is on speed and
the other is on Acid, and you might begin to get a small piece of the overall
picture. This album is an aural trip, that's for sure...one of those CD's that
one must listen to over and over to really appreciate. I've been listening for
a month now and am just starting to "get it" (the number of paradigm shifts on
"Cold Hand of Retribution" alone is enough to give you whiplash). The best
thing you can do is listen to it...it's really the only way to know for sure.
Besides, if you love truly inventive metal, then you're really doing yourself a
favor picking this one up. The Heathen Hippy gives it four neck braces.
(Taliesin Govannon)
This
CD is chock full of Narnack Record's fourteen best bands doing seventy minutes
of mostly unreleased material. ‘F.F.S.’ includes tracks from The Fall,
Coachwhips, Langhorne Slim, Fast Fourier, Lil Pocketknife, Tyondai Braxton, Aa,
and X27. Also featured on the sampler are Shesus, Intellegence, OCS, Bunnybrains,
Yellow Swans, and Guitar Wolf. The artists on this comp range from simple
straight forward garage rock to psychedelic and experimental, not following the
cookie-cutter ways of other rock labels. Don't get me wrong, this isn’t a
great compilation, by any means. Like most samplers I listen to, I liked
about half of it and found the other half bland. Standout tracks for me were "Loverock"
by Guitarwolf, “K.O.” by Shesus, and "I Wanna Take You Home" and "By The Time
The Sun Goes Down" by Langhorne Slim. I would definitely recommend this album
for a few reasons. First, because it gives you an idea what Narnack is all
about. Second, it introduces you to a few really, really great bands that you
may otherwise have never heard. Third, even the bad parts in this sampler aren’t
that bad. And last but not least, it's only a measly $6.50 if you order
it from www.narnackrecords.com.
Rest in Peace Bass Wolf (Hideaki Sekiguchi). (Dave Evans)
Vicious Cycle – ‘ Vicious
Cycle’ (Sweet Ass Records 2005)
Vicious
Cycle is a four piece stoner rock band from Santa Cruz, California consisting of
Valerie Atha (bass/vox), Enver Koneya (guitar/vox), Travis Vanburg (guitar/vox)
, and Pablo el Diablo (drums/drill sergeant).. Obvious influences would be Pearl
Jam, Sound Garden, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, and Velvet Underground among
others. Vicious Cycle's self titled album was released in 2005 but sounds as
classic as any album I've ever heard. Although you can pick out their many
influences, they never seem to be ripping any of them off. The guitar tones are
so thick you can almost eat them. The vocals harmonies are so pure that they
transport you back to a time when talent took precedent over studio magic. I
would definitely recommend this album to any rock n roll fan. I, for one, am
glad to have discovered Vicious Cycle. To learn more about the band or purchase
their album, please visit
www.viciouscyclerock.com. (Dave Evans)
When Sum
41 first debuted four or five years ago, I got the impression that they were the
typical, new mall punk, flavor of the week. However fun they seemed, and a bit
more original then most of their counterparts in the countless neo-genres of
punk, I didn’t expect too much from the band in the future. WRONG! ‘Chuck’ is a
far cry from Sum 41's past ventures. This may be the most diverse rock album of
the year. It takes you on a rollercoaster of styles from punk to indie to some
of the best metal riffs I've heard in years. The one thing that hasn’t changed
from past albums is the catchy melodies and harmonies that seem to blanket the
whole album. Sum 41 have truly separated themselves from the rest of the
pop-punk crowd with ‘Chuck’, simply because this album doesn’t fit any category
or maybe because it fits in so many categories. Never the less, I totally
recommend this album to anyone in love with guitar rock, break beats, melodic
vocals, metal, punk, hardcore, emo, indi, hip hop, psychedelic rock n fucking
roll! (Dave Evans)
Damn,
Napalm has done it again! I swear, I am NOT on this label's payroll, I'm just
beginning to wonder if they're going to send me something I don't love one of
these days. Free Fall Into Fear is the fourth album from Trail of Tears, and it
is one of the best extreme/melodic hybrids I've heard yet! Aggressive riffing
flows into gothic passages with amazing fluidity, and the dual vocals of Ronny
Thorsen and Kjetil Nordhus compliment as well as they contrast. The sound of
this CD is difficult to describe. Imagine Anthrax getting together with Faith
No More to jam on some Black Sabbath tunes while half the band is on speed and
the other is on Acid, and you might begin to get a small piece of the overall
picture. This album is an aural trip, that's for sure...one of those CD's that
one must listen to over and over to really appreciate. I've been listening for
a month now and am just starting to "get it" (the number of paradigm shifts on
"Cold Hand of Retribution" alone is enough to give you whiplash). The best
thing you can do is listen to it...it's really the only way to know for sure.
Besides, if you love truly inventive metal, then you're really doing yourself a
favor picking this one up. The Heathen Hippy gives it four neck braces.
(Taliesin Govannon)
This
CD is chock full of Narnack Record's fourteen best bands doing seventy minutes
of mostly unreleased material. ‘F.F.S.’ includes tracks from The Fall,
Coachwhips, Langhorne Slim, Fast Fourier, Lil Pocketknife, Tyondai Braxton, Aa,
and X27. Also featured on the sampler are Shesus, Intellegence, OCS, Bunnybrains,
Yellow Swans, and Guitar Wolf. The artists on this comp range from simple
straight forward garage rock to psychedelic and experimental, not following the
cookie-cutter ways of other rock labels. Don't get me wrong, this isn’t a
great compilation, by any means. Like most samplers I listen to, I liked
about half of it and found the other half bland. Standout tracks for me were "Loverock"
by Guitarwolf, “K.O.” by Shesus, and "I Wanna Take You Home" and "By The Time
The Sun Goes Down" by Langhorne Slim. I would definitely recommend this album
for a few reasons. First, because it gives you an idea what Narnack is all
about. Second, it introduces you to a few really, really great bands that you
may otherwise have never heard. Third, even the bad parts in this sampler aren’t
that bad. And last but not least, it's only a measly $6.50 if you order
it from 
Vicious
Cycle is a four piece stoner rock band from Santa Cruz, California consisting of
Valerie Atha (bass/vox), Enver Koneya (guitar/vox), Travis Vanburg (guitar/vox)
, and Pablo el Diablo (drums/drill sergeant).. Obvious influences would be Pearl
Jam, Sound Garden, The Doors, Fleetwood Mac, and Velvet Underground among
others. Vicious Cycle's self titled album was released in 2005 but sounds as
classic as any album I've ever heard. Although you can pick out their many
influences, they never seem to be ripping any of them off. The guitar tones are
so thick you can almost eat them. The vocals harmonies are so pure that they
transport you back to a time when talent took precedent over studio magic. I
would definitely recommend this album to any rock n roll fan. I, for one, am
glad to have discovered Vicious Cycle. To learn more about the band or purchase
their album, please visit
