So, once upon a time, Nirvana
and Led Zepplin had a bastard child. They named this kid "The Mother's Anger"
and raised him in the mean streets of Tel Aviv, Israel. Well look out bitch,
they are now in the good ol' U.S of A and touring as relentlessly as the
Grateful Dead. This album is drenched in simple chords and melodies that will
hypnotize you from start to stop, and is sure to be a classic. Guitar
player/lead vocalist David Stitch re-invents the wheel, ignoring all rules and
standards of rock ‘n’ roll. His unique style of low-tuning gives the illusion of
a phantom bass player, as he holds down the bottom end and lead simultaneously.
He tops it all off with razor-thin vocals and hook after hook after hook
delivered in a slight Israeli accent that will curl your toes. What is holding
this madness together? Jimi Nostalgia (drummer/backing vocals). Jimi seems to
find a way to play through the music instead of with it, the way maybe a jazz
drummer would. His changes arrive in mid verse or late chorus, ignoring the
conventional rhythm patterns we've grown accustomed to. Without his precise,
sewing machine style to stitch it all together, the music would surely melt into
angry nothingness. The only shortcoming of this record is that it doesn't relay
the intensity of their live shows. The drums especially sound way too mild and
low in the mix. However, this is a minor complaint and I implore you to buy this
album. Visit
www.dionysusrecords.com to find out when you can see these cats
live. (Dave Evans)
This is a very mid-eighties hardcore sounding band from
Cleveland. However, what could easily be just another rehashed trip down memory
lane manages to be something more thanks to good songwriting skills and
distinctive vocals. All five short and to the point tracks are good, but
“Colavito’s Curse” stands out in particular. The band actually steps out from
the shadow of their influences a little bit on this one with some interesting
guitar parts and a little more melody than seen on the rest of this disc. While
I can’t say this is an amazing debut, it definitely shows potential. As it is,
old school hardcore fans should eat this up. With a little time to find their
own voice, these guys could be even better. (Bob Ignizio)
What the hell is it about AC/DC that so many musicians seem
to love so much? As a musician myself, it escapes me. To me, AC/DC has always
been one of those "background music" bands...you know, if they come on the radio
in the car or over the sound system of a bar you tap your feet, drink your beer,
or whatever...and then wait for the next song to come on. I don't DISlike them
enough to actually change the channel, but it's not something that I put on at
home. Many other musicians, however, love the stuff, and I guess that Six Feet
Under is one such group of musicians. Their newest album, a second installment
in their "death metal versions of classic rock" series "Graveyard Classics", is
finds them covering AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ album in its entirety. Amazingly,
despite my general avoidance of AC/DC, I genuinely liked this CD. Maybe it's
because I love to hear Chris Barnes growl out tunes like "Hells Bells" (or my
personal favorite, "You Shook Me All Night Long"), but I've been putting this
one on repeat. Terry Butler and Greg Gall provide a rock-solid rhythm backing
to this outing, and guitarist Steve Swanson gives these tired old riffs newfound
balls. This album shows just how fantastic this band is...after all, nobody
else can get me to air-guitar to Angus Young riffs like this, including Angus
Young! The heathen hippy gives this CD four and a half schoolboy outfits.
(Taliesin Govannon)
Man, something about this album rubbed me the wrong way.
No, make that *everything* about this CD bugged me. "Babylon" is the debut CD
by Skindred, a band that tries to blend several genres of music and yet seems to
only be able to draw on the worst possible attributes of their influences. If
"Blend up the ragga metal punk hip-hop" (a line in the first song "Nobody")
sounds like a recipe for an Excedrin headache to you, then you have some idea of
what this CD is like. Lead singer Benji Webbe sounds like a second-tier reggae
singer trying to do an impersonation of the guy from Disturbed, and only
succeeds in reminding me why I hate 85% of everything Disturbed does. He sounds
a bit Mike Patton-ish at times, but not enough to please. Guitarist Mikeydemus
has ripped off every riff in Disturbed's catalogue, and they aren't any more
entertaining this time around. And please, will somebody please TEACH THE
DRUMMER HOW TO PLAY MORE THAN THREE BEATS??? That really got annoying..."Dirty
Arya" has three beats: his fast groove, his heavy groove, and his medium
"reggae" groove. He does them quite well, but please! And finally, here's a
message to bands everywhere: It is no longer cool to "hide" a bonus song on the
last track after 5 to 10 minutes of silence. It was a surprise when Nirvana did
it, but now its just bloody obvious and tedious. Especially here, where the
"bonus" song sounds like something Incubus would reject for even a b-side. The
heathen hippy gives this one half of a broken Disturbed CD. (Taliesin Govannon)
So, once upon a time, Nirvana
and Led Zepplin had a bastard child. They named this kid "The Mother's Anger"
and raised him in the mean streets of Tel Aviv, Israel. Well look out bitch,
they are now in the good ol' U.S of A and touring as relentlessly as the
Grateful Dead. This album is drenched in simple chords and melodies that will
hypnotize you from start to stop, and is sure to be a classic. Guitar
player/lead vocalist David Stitch re-invents the wheel, ignoring all rules and
standards of rock ‘n’ roll. His unique style of low-tuning gives the illusion of
a phantom bass player, as he holds down the bottom end and lead simultaneously.
He tops it all off with razor-thin vocals and hook after hook after hook
delivered in a slight Israeli accent that will curl your toes. What is holding
this madness together? Jimi Nostalgia (drummer/backing vocals). Jimi seems to
find a way to play through the music instead of with it, the way maybe a jazz
drummer would. His changes arrive in mid verse or late chorus, ignoring the
conventional rhythm patterns we've grown accustomed to. Without his precise,
sewing machine style to stitch it all together, the music would surely melt into
angry nothingness. The only shortcoming of this record is that it doesn't relay
the intensity of their live shows. The drums especially sound way too mild and
low in the mix. However, this is a minor complaint and I implore you to buy this
album. Visit 
This is a very mid-eighties hardcore sounding band from
Cleveland. However, what could easily be just another rehashed trip down memory
lane manages to be something more thanks to good songwriting skills and
distinctive vocals. All five short and to the point tracks are good, but
“Colavito’s Curse” stands out in particular. The band actually steps out from
the shadow of their influences a little bit on this one with some interesting
guitar parts and a little more melody than seen on the rest of this disc. While
I can’t say this is an amazing debut, it definitely shows potential. As it is,
old school hardcore fans should eat this up. With a little time to find their
own voice, these guys could be even better. (Bob Ignizio) 
What the hell is it about AC/DC that so many musicians seem
to love so much? As a musician myself, it escapes me. To me, AC/DC has always
been one of those "background music" bands...you know, if they come on the radio
in the car or over the sound system of a bar you tap your feet, drink your beer,
or whatever...and then wait for the next song to come on. I don't DISlike them
enough to actually change the channel, but it's not something that I put on at
home. Many other musicians, however, love the stuff, and I guess that Six Feet
Under is one such group of musicians. Their newest album, a second installment
in their "death metal versions of classic rock" series "Graveyard Classics", is
finds them covering AC/DC’s ‘Back in Black’ album in its entirety. Amazingly,
despite my general avoidance of AC/DC, I genuinely liked this CD. Maybe it's
because I love to hear Chris Barnes growl out tunes like "Hells Bells" (or my
personal favorite, "You Shook Me All Night Long"), but I've been putting this
one on repeat. Terry Butler and Greg Gall provide a rock-solid rhythm backing
to this outing, and guitarist Steve Swanson gives these tired old riffs newfound
balls. This album shows just how fantastic this band is...after all, nobody
else can get me to air-guitar to Angus Young riffs like this, including Angus
Young! The heathen hippy gives this CD four and a half schoolboy outfits.
(Taliesin Govannon)
Man, something about this album rubbed me the wrong way.
No, make that *everything* about this CD bugged me. "Babylon" is the debut CD
by Skindred, a band that tries to blend several genres of music and yet seems to
only be able to draw on the worst possible attributes of their influences. If
"Blend up the ragga metal punk hip-hop" (a line in the first song "Nobody")
sounds like a recipe for an Excedrin headache to you, then you have some idea of
what this CD is like. Lead singer Benji Webbe sounds like a second-tier reggae
singer trying to do an impersonation of the guy from Disturbed, and only
succeeds in reminding me why I hate 85% of everything Disturbed does. He sounds
a bit Mike Patton-ish at times, but not enough to please. Guitarist Mikeydemus
has ripped off every riff in Disturbed's catalogue, and they aren't any more
entertaining this time around. And please, will somebody please TEACH THE
DRUMMER HOW TO PLAY MORE THAN THREE BEATS??? That really got annoying..."Dirty
Arya" has three beats: his fast groove, his heavy groove, and his medium
"reggae" groove. He does them quite well, but please! And finally, here's a
message to bands everywhere: It is no longer cool to "hide" a bonus song on the
last track after 5 to 10 minutes of silence. It was a surprise when Nirvana did
it, but now its just bloody obvious and tedious. Especially here, where the
"bonus" song sounds like something Incubus would reject for even a b-side. The
heathen hippy gives this one half of a broken Disturbed CD. (Taliesin Govannon)