"Failing By The Second" is an
album that has many moods. These moods are straight from the heart of R. Sell,
who is primarily the Atlantic Manor. He did get some help from his friends, and
the press release says these songs were recorded with no rehearsals. Musically,
this album is quite moving, with swaying acoustic guitars, lo-fi drums, and
keyboards. The lyrics are also good, but some may find Sell’s voice to be
annoying at times, but definitely not ALL the time. The songs could be compared
to artists like Clem Snide, The Velvet Underground, or Lou Barlow. The record
spans 9 songs, and is pretty enjoyable all the way through. The highlights
include the lyrically beautiful “Broken Bones Heal”, and the break-up inspired
track “Everything Can Die Today”. The latter seems to be a running theme on
this record, and the album is noted in the press release as R. Sell’s “divorce
album.” If lo-fi records are your thing, then "Failing By The Second" will make
a great addition to your collection. It’s a country meets indie rock album
with punk rock roots that will have you wrapped in your own sadness, but feeling
good, knowing that someone else shares your pain. (Eddie Fleisher)
Akron’s Don Austin walks the fine line between punk and
grind core on this 7” named after their hometown. Blazing drum blasts, slashing
guitars, and tortured vocals are the ingredients for this brutal musical
recipe. It’s not as catchy as the sort of thing I usually like, but that’s not
really the point of music like this. It’s supposed to act as an outlet for
negative emotions, both for the band and the listener, and in that capacity this
succeeds admirably. The lyrics are torn right form vocalist Larry Gargus’ own
heart, and he screams with undeniable passion. Especially painful is “Brief
Lives”, which I believe is about a child of Larry’s who died way too soon. The
rest of the songs aren’t much more cheerful, with titles like “You Will Never
Kick and you Will Die a Junkie” and “I Will See You Dead” the norm. Hey, no one
ever said music had to be all happy and fun. If you’re looking for a musical
journey into darkness this should do the trick. The musicianship is solid and
the production is suitably raw for the style. (Bob Ignizio)
Southern rock from
L.A. At least I think they're southern rock. And L.A. is in southern
California. This is their fourth, but their first studio record since 91. The
song "Simple Man" sounded REALLY familiar - turns out it’s one they've kept
around all this time. I think Junkyard hopped onto a small southern rock
resurgence around 1987-1992. I'm sure you remember the Georgia Satellites,
Black Crows, Skynyrd reunion, etc. I seem to remember a few others jumped onto
the bandwagon, overloaded it, and quickly collapsed it. It was during this time
I saw the "Simple Man" video. Several years they’ve added a little punk to
their southern rock roots, and while I admire them for sticking around, I also
get the idea they're trying to "keep up with the times". That’s something
that's always struck me as a bad idea. My feeling is bands should stop caring
about what's popular and play EXACTLY WHAT THEY LIKE. The song "Fight", for
example, sounds way too forced. On the plus side, vocalist David Roach can sing
and adds a lot of soul to the music. I think we could use more singers like
him. However, it sounds like he's nervous or not letting loose on most of the
album. He does great on "Simple Man", but it's probably because he's spent 10
years on it, or he genuinely likes the song. He'd do better to just relax and
belt out the rest of the songs with the same feeling. There are some good
ballads and beer drinkin' songs on here, and "Simple Man" is pretty good.
They've got some soul and some talent, but they should look in the mirror and
find out what they really enjoy playing. I think they're trying to salvage
something out of an old image. They need to forget about it and just play.
(Todd Watkins)
Remember the early days of
black metal? No, I’m not talking about bands like Mayhem or Darkthrone. I’m
talking about stuff like Hellhammer, Sodom, Venom, Bathory, and Possessed.
Obviously Midnight knows what I’m talking about, because this demo does a great
job of recapturing that sound. There’s a bit of NWOBHM and early thrash
influence as well, but back then genres weren’t so stringently defined, so that
feels about right. The production sounds about right as well. It’s a bit thin,
but well mixed. Rumor has it this is actually Boulder's Jamie Walters
incognito, but you’ll have to find out for yourself. It sure sounds like his
vocals, though, and for the most part the songwriting is up to his usual high
standards. “All Hail Hell” is definitely the standout track for me, easily as
good as any thrash anthem circa 1984. “Servant of No One”, “Unholy and Rotten”,
and “Long Live Death” all feature a nice Tom G. Warrior vibe, and “I Am
Violator” is reminiscent of early Kreator. “Hot Graves” sounds like ‘Welcome to
Hell’ era Venom with cleaner production and better guitar playing. The last two
songs on this demo CD are scheduled to be released as a single in December.
“White Hot Fire” is a scorcher that mixes all of Midnight’s influences together
well, and “Endless Slut” makes a worthy B-side. (Bob Ignizio)
"Failing By The Second" is an
album that has many moods. These moods are straight from the heart of R. Sell,
who is primarily the Atlantic Manor. He did get some help from his friends, and
the press release says these songs were recorded with no rehearsals. Musically,
this album is quite moving, with swaying acoustic guitars, lo-fi drums, and
keyboards. The lyrics are also good, but some may find Sell’s voice to be
annoying at times, but definitely not ALL the time. The songs could be compared
to artists like Clem Snide, The Velvet Underground, or Lou Barlow. The record
spans 9 songs, and is pretty enjoyable all the way through. The highlights
include the lyrically beautiful “Broken Bones Heal”, and the break-up inspired
track “Everything Can Die Today”. The latter seems to be a running theme on
this record, and the album is noted in the press release as R. Sell’s “divorce
album.” If lo-fi records are your thing, then "Failing By The Second" will make
a great addition to your collection. It’s a country meets indie rock album
with punk rock roots that will have you wrapped in your own sadness, but feeling
good, knowing that someone else shares your pain. (Eddie Fleisher) 
Akron’s Don Austin walks the fine line between punk and
grind core on this 7” named after their hometown. Blazing drum blasts, slashing
guitars, and tortured vocals are the ingredients for this brutal musical
recipe. It’s not as catchy as the sort of thing I usually like, but that’s not
really the point of music like this. It’s supposed to act as an outlet for
negative emotions, both for the band and the listener, and in that capacity this
succeeds admirably. The lyrics are torn right form vocalist Larry Gargus’ own
heart, and he screams with undeniable passion. Especially painful is “Brief
Lives”, which I believe is about a child of Larry’s who died way too soon. The
rest of the songs aren’t much more cheerful, with titles like “You Will Never
Kick and you Will Die a Junkie” and “I Will See You Dead” the norm. Hey, no one
ever said music had to be all happy and fun. If you’re looking for a musical
journey into darkness this should do the trick. The musicianship is solid and
the production is suitably raw for the style. (Bob Ignizio)
Southern rock from
L.A. At least I think they're southern rock. And L.A. is in southern
California. This is their fourth, but their first studio record since 91. The
song "Simple Man" sounded REALLY familiar - turns out it’s one they've kept
around all this time. I think Junkyard hopped onto a small southern rock
resurgence around 1987-1992. I'm sure you remember the Georgia Satellites,
Black Crows, Skynyrd reunion, etc. I seem to remember a few others jumped onto
the bandwagon, overloaded it, and quickly collapsed it. It was during this time
I saw the "Simple Man" video. Several years they’ve added a little punk to
their southern rock roots, and while I admire them for sticking around, I also
get the idea they're trying to "keep up with the times". That’s something
that's always struck me as a bad idea. My feeling is bands should stop caring
about what's popular and play EXACTLY WHAT THEY LIKE. The song "Fight", for
example, sounds way too forced. On the plus side, vocalist David Roach can sing
and adds a lot of soul to the music. I think we could use more singers like
him. However, it sounds like he's nervous or not letting loose on most of the
album. He does great on "Simple Man", but it's probably because he's spent 10
years on it, or he genuinely likes the song. He'd do better to just relax and
belt out the rest of the songs with the same feeling. There are some good
ballads and beer drinkin' songs on here, and "Simple Man" is pretty good.
They've got some soul and some talent, but they should look in the mirror and
find out what they really enjoy playing. I think they're trying to salvage
something out of an old image. They need to forget about it and just play.
(Todd Watkins)
Remember the early days of
black metal? No, I’m not talking about bands like Mayhem or Darkthrone. I’m
talking about stuff like Hellhammer, Sodom, Venom, Bathory, and Possessed.
Obviously Midnight knows what I’m talking about, because this demo does a great
job of recapturing that sound. There’s a bit of NWOBHM and early thrash
influence as well, but back then genres weren’t so stringently defined, so that
feels about right. The production sounds about right as well. It’s a bit thin,
but well mixed. Rumor has it this is actually Boulder's Jamie Walters
incognito, but you’ll have to find out for yourself. It sure sounds like his
vocals, though, and for the most part the songwriting is up to his usual high
standards. “All Hail Hell” is definitely the standout track for me, easily as
good as any thrash anthem circa 1984. “Servant of No One”, “Unholy and Rotten”,
and “Long Live Death” all feature a nice Tom G. Warrior vibe, and “I Am
Violator” is reminiscent of early Kreator. “Hot Graves” sounds like ‘Welcome to
Hell’ era Venom with cleaner production and better guitar playing. The last two
songs on this demo CD are scheduled to be released as a single in December.
“White Hot Fire” is a scorcher that mixes all of Midnight’s influences together
well, and “Endless Slut” makes a worthy B-side. (Bob Ignizio)