Tuesday 5 February 2019

Some record reviews from 1999

Some old record reviews, again intended for a fanzine that never got made.

Mostly from 1999.

Therapy?-Lonely, Cryin' Only (A&M)
A pop punk single from the patchy 'Semi-Detached' album. The B-Sides are mainly new versions of songs from their early albums, but also feature a weird fucked up new version of Husker Du's 'Diane' which kicks considerable ass! Last release by Therapy? from the now defunct A&M label.

Fatboy Slim-Rockafeller Skank (Skint)
'Right about now, the funk soul brother!'
Quality item alert! The best dance single of 1998 by far. Buy or die! Fatboy Slim has mastered an effect which can really piss you off-one that sounds like a skipping CD! The bastard!

Will Haven-El Diablo(Revelation)
I got this for £6.99-bargain tastic! It's hardcore with big chunks of neo metal (Korn etc), kinda like Neurosis meets the Deftones! Kick Ass!

Soulfly-Soulfly(Roadrunner)
Max Cavalera does it again! 'Soulfly' is his best album since 'Arise'! Better than 'Roots'! 
And would we have expected anything less? Well, after the dismal comebacks of Therapy? and Paradise Lost, yes!  But thank fuck Max has pulled off a work of pure fukkin class! From opener 'Eye For An Eye' down to 'Karmageddon' there isn't one bad song. Even the ultra fast 'The Song Remains Insane' (featuring the Sepultura song 'Attitude') does something for the experience. Listen at extreme volume and break stuff!!!!!!!

Pitchshifter-www.pitchshifter.com(Geffen)
Metal for the millenium, as it has more than likely been dubbed. Pitchshifter combined big chunky beats and big chunky guitars on their 'Infotainment?' effort, but now the've polished their sound, added bizzare effects (courtesy of ex-Prodigy git nd now full time PS git Jim Davies) and written some fukkin ace songs like the magnificent 'Genius' and anti racist anthem 'Microwaved', as well as the stunning, paranoid monster that is 'Please Sir'. Go get. Now. Just because your're paranoid, don't mean the bastards aren't after you!

Stampin' Ground-An Expression Of Repressed Violence(Century Media)
This sounds kinda like 'Arise'-era Sepultura mixed with some angry UK hardcore: fukkin cool! some top meaty riffs and a decent production help their cause, as does some great (if bizzare) artwork. Worth a look.

How To Steal Food (Demo)
This is cool! Ska punkyness with some great musicianship(!) and better songs! Not bad for some one I met on the internet by chance! E-mail the bassist: DayHTSFood@aol.com or look for the address page later on for more info!  Check it out!

Beastie Boys-Hello Nasty(Grand Royal)
Nothing I say about the Beasties can change your mind: You either love 'em or hate 'em! I love 'em, and as a result think this album is ace! If 'Ill Communication' was the B-Boys at their best, then I'm fucked for a description of this! Unlike 'Ill...', 'Hello Nasty has no fillers. Unfortunately it has no hardcore tracks either(they got those out of their system on that EP whose name I can't spell!) but it doesn't need them. While it has nothing to match 'Sabotage' the likes of 'Intergalactic' and 'Super Disco Breakin'' come very close indeed. Top shit once again!

 Pulkas-Greed (Earache)
Wow! This album is so fukkin great it’s scary! Every song screams “I will kill you and your family if you don’t like me!” and all the riffs are just amazing. Why don’t you own this??? One of the truly great new metal albums, with a hint of a Neurosis influence.

Decendents-Everthing Sucks
This album converted me to the Decendents. Great melodic hardcore with brilliant thought provoking lyrics. The tunes will attach themselves to your brain and remain there until you have a lobotamy!
3 Colours Red-Revolt (Creation) 
3CR’s second album sees them going all heavy on us initially, opening with the self explanatory ‘Paralyse’, before calming down with ‘Beautiful Day’ and then settling into a melodic niche. 3CR have finally shaken off their ‘Wildhearts copyists’ tag with this. Not great, but worth a listen.

System Of A Down (American)
SOAD are part of LA’s new metal scene. This means they use stupidly heavy guitars. A good thing. However, rather than merely taking their cues from Korn and The Deftones, SOAD have created a unique combination of eastern weirdness, heavy guitars and Jello Biafra-esque vocals and lyrics. The best political band since Rage Against The Machine.

Slipknot (Roadrunner)
A band with 9 members, who have created a sound not unlike ‘Roots’ era Sepultura, with the obvious nods to bands such as Korn and the Deftones. For a change, they actually have a good singer, who can change from screaming to actual singing and all places in between. Sadly, the album gets a bit samey after ‘Spit It Out’, but worth a look if you’re into similar stuff.

Machine Head – The Burning Red (Roadrunner)
After recovering from ‘Difficult Second Album’ syndrome, Machine Head have turned up with an album which takes onboard new elements, whilst retaining the Machine Head sound. So, the brutal riffs and widdly bits are now infused with hip-hop ish chunks, without it sounding like Korn. Robb Flynn has decided to take out some personal demons in his lyrics this time, producing the disturbing ‘Five’ in the process. ‘The Burning Red’ is pretty consistant in it’s quality. Even their version of ‘Message In A Bottle’ sounds good! Good shit.


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