Pitbull Daycare are
a Sex Pistols meets Ministry type of deal. The vocals are nasally, and the
guitars and drums sound like a steel factory. There are also electronic blips
and bleeps spliced throughout. The record is not bad, it's just not all that
entertaining. It gets sort of old after a song or two. But that's not to say
they aren't talented, because they are. The title track is a pretty sweet song
featuring KRS-1 and billed as a Pitbull Daycare vs. KRS-1 battle. The other cool
thing is the cover of REM's "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel
Fine)", which is pretty well done. Overall, if you're into this style, you'll
probably dig this. Otherwise, you might tire of it fast. (Eddie Fleisher)
Who
would expect to find a top notch roots music band on “punk rock” label
Alternative Tentacles? That’s what we have here, though. Blues, country, folk,
& bluegrass played with sincerity. If there’s any shtick here, the guys play it
so straight you’d never know it. Slim Cessna & co. hardly break new ground, but
good singin’, good playin’, and most importantly, good writin’ make this an
album any roots music fan should seek out. Stand out tracks include “This is
How We do Things in the Country”, “Mark of Vaccination”, “Port Authority Band”,
and “Providence, New Jerusalem”. Whether your next get-together is a gospel
revival or a honky-tonk kegger, this ought to please your guests just fine.
(Bob Ignizio)
Come,
my friends, let's pop Sun Descends' latest "Kanun Law" into the CD player and
transform the stereo into a time machine. We'll travel back to San Francisco in
1983, a time when Metallica actually liked their fans and "thrash" was a new
term. Fans of old-fashioned speed-metal will eat this CD up. The riffing, the
drumming, even the production veritably scream "SLAYER!!!" like a rowdy drunk
watching a cover band. It would be easy to write this band and album off as a
mere rip-off, except that the band and songs are very good. Mastermind/vocalist
Mem Stein has assembled an able group of musicians to play an entertaining blend
of good old-fashioned speed metal that is both retro and original at the same
time. Maybe I'm biased because this is the kind of music I grew up on, but I
seriously dug this CD. Go to http://www.sundescends.com
and listen to some samples if you don't believe my discription. While you're
there, order the CD. It also features the "lost" Exhumer (Mem's old band)
demos. I'd like to tell you how they sound too, but they weren’t on my review
copy. The Heathen Hippy gives it four banging heads. (Taliesin Govannon)
A lot of how you
react to this album is going to depend on how important lyrics are to you.
This album starts out solidly with “Winterland”. “Destruction of the Race
of Men” isn’t bad, either, but the lyrics based on Tolkien…I don’t know. I
do know that “Only the Dead”, with the moving refrain of, “I only fuck the
dead”, definitely crosses the thin line between stupid and clever.
“Praised be the Lord” is yet another metal anthem railing against those pesky
televangelists. Now there’s an original topic. And “Metalheads”
sounds like these guys were raiding Manowar’s notebook. It’s a quandary.
Musically, this is a really good album. Great riffs, solid production,
everything you’d want from a good Swedish death metal record. But
Vocalist/bassist Johnny doesn’t make a single utterance that isn’t a well worn
cliché, and because his delivery is so clear you can’t help but notice.
And I can’t deny that songs like “The Longships are Coming” and “I Bring You
Death” work for me despite their familiar subject matter. Unleashed earn
an ‘A’ for the music, but a ‘D‘for the lyrics. You work it out. (Bob
Ignizio)
Pitbull Daycare are
a Sex Pistols meets Ministry type of deal. The vocals are nasally, and the
guitars and drums sound like a steel factory. There are also electronic blips
and bleeps spliced throughout. The record is not bad, it's just not all that
entertaining. It gets sort of old after a song or two. But that's not to say
they aren't talented, because they are. The title track is a pretty sweet song
featuring KRS-1 and billed as a Pitbull Daycare vs. KRS-1 battle. The other cool
thing is the cover of REM's "It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel
Fine)", which is pretty well done. Overall, if you're into this style, you'll
probably dig this. Otherwise, you might tire of it fast. (Eddie Fleisher)
Who
would expect to find a top notch roots music band on “punk rock” label
Alternative Tentacles? That’s what we have here, though. Blues, country, folk,
& bluegrass played with sincerity. If there’s any shtick here, the guys play it
so straight you’d never know it. Slim Cessna & co. hardly break new ground, but
good singin’, good playin’, and most importantly, good writin’ make this an
album any roots music fan should seek out. Stand out tracks include “This is
How We do Things in the Country”, “Mark of Vaccination”, “Port Authority Band”,
and “Providence, New Jerusalem”. Whether your next get-together is a gospel
revival or a honky-tonk kegger, this ought to please your guests just fine.
(Bob Ignizio)
Come,
my friends, let's pop Sun Descends' latest "Kanun Law" into the CD player and
transform the stereo into a time machine. We'll travel back to San Francisco in
1983, a time when Metallica actually liked their fans and "thrash" was a new
term. Fans of old-fashioned speed-metal will eat this CD up. The riffing, the
drumming, even the production veritably scream "SLAYER!!!" like a rowdy drunk
watching a cover band. It would be easy to write this band and album off as a
mere rip-off, except that the band and songs are very good. Mastermind/vocalist
Mem Stein has assembled an able group of musicians to play an entertaining blend
of good old-fashioned speed metal that is both retro and original at the same
time. Maybe I'm biased because this is the kind of music I grew up on, but I
seriously dug this CD. Go to
A lot of how you
react to this album is going to depend on how important lyrics are to you.
This album starts out solidly with “Winterland”. “Destruction of the Race
of Men” isn’t bad, either, but the lyrics based on Tolkien…I don’t know. I
do know that “Only the Dead”, with the moving refrain of, “I only fuck the
dead”, definitely crosses the thin line between stupid and clever.
“Praised be the Lord” is yet another metal anthem railing against those pesky
televangelists. Now there’s an original topic. And “Metalheads”
sounds like these guys were raiding Manowar’s notebook. It’s a quandary.
Musically, this is a really good album. Great riffs, solid production,
everything you’d want from a good Swedish death metal record. But
Vocalist/bassist Johnny doesn’t make a single utterance that isn’t a well worn
cliché, and because his delivery is so clear you can’t help but notice.
And I can’t deny that songs like “The Longships are Coming” and “I Bring You
Death” work for me despite their familiar subject matter. Unleashed earn
an ‘A’ for the music, but a ‘D‘for the lyrics. You work it out. (Bob
Ignizio)