CD Reviews: Page 17

Artist: Spineshank

Album: The Height Of Callousness

Label: Roadrunner

The Review: I have a feeling that Roadrunner is going to be the label of the year when it comes to metal releases this year!  Deicide, Soulfly, and now the sophomore effort of Spineshank.  Ballsy and hardcore to the bone, this LA based industrial hardcore band follows in the footsteps of other greats out of the genre like Fear Factory and NIN.  However, the band has defined their sound since their last disc which are assured to keep the wanna be labels to a minimum.  Expect some great dark overtones within the hybrids of electronic sequencing and hard riffs.  The lyrics of agression and frustration are hollered out rather well by front man Jonny Santos.  Very much like the songs on the disc, he has a very wide range of styles which make you want to scream along!  The great thing about this disc is that every track holds something new.  The first track Asthamtic opens the disc with a pop providing a mix of great speeds, vocal styles, and hybrids of sound.  This only leads to other ear exploding tracks (Can't Be) Fixed  (which has a rather catchy explosive stop and go riff) and Seamless (which has a certain groove that makes you wonder if you should either dance or break something).  So if you are looking for a disc that will keep you rocking (or in some cases maybe even dancing) for a long time check this one out for a head pounding good time! 

Recommended Radio Friendly Tracks: 1, 5, 8, 9

Overall Grade: B+ to A- MTPF 8/22/00

Artist: Gragantua Soul

Album: The First, The Last, The Tribe

Label: Indie

The Review: This band hails out of CT and are known very well for their random appearances in local venues there.  Their style is a mix of rap-core, nu-metal, and a few other genres here and there.  I am not sure but I feel that this band either A.)Has an identity crisis when it comes to styles or B.)Are experimental as f**k.  (Then again, aren't those always the options...)  To be honest I can't decide if its either "A" or "B" but what I can say is that the swishy DJ sounds just seem to be a little overdone here and there.  The lryics are spiritual and are more than likely based on the band's life experiences.  The vocals reminded me a little of King's X when they sang and had a Bloodhound Gang twist when they rapped.  Other than that, this CD does prove to be different with its odd mix of styles and songs.  There really is nothing more to say excpet maybe these guys will sign with a major label after this new release.

Recommended Radio Freindly Tracks: and but 4 and 5

Overall Grade: C- MTPF 8/24/00

Artist: Pissing Razors

Album: Fields of Disbelief

Label: Noise

The Review: If you think the name is brutal (Personally, I've always squirmed whenever I saw it...) check out this band that truly stands for harder than hard sound in the metal core genre.  This four man outlet is back again with another brutal CD that is sure to shake all the nick nacks off your shelf with it's chugging riffs/drum beats and its thunderous  bass lines.  Its hard to compare this band to anyone because this band truly has a vicious feel to their music that they can say is truly their's.  The vocals are barked out in raspy style which give way to freaky breakdowns and guitar solos.  Every song proves to be original and not a simple rehash of the last track which is a good thing to see for a change out of a metal core band.  So if you can imagine what Pantera would sound like jacked up on a week's supply of speed you would have the new Pissing Razors disc.  And you thought the name was scary.....

Recommended Radio Friendly Tracks: Any But 3, 7, 8, 11

Overall Grade: B- to B+ MTPF 8/24/00

Click here to go back1