I'm not a big fan of hardcore myself. When I put this album into my CD player, I had a very open mind coming into it. But after several listens I couldn't get into the CD. The music isn't that bad, but then again it isn't the best either. Everything is fast and brutal, and while listening to it you'll want to break something, mosh with your little sister, or just flat out slam yourself up against a wall. One thing that was good about the album is that I loved the bass on it. The bassist is very talented, and writes some great bass lines. They also had a few fast punk songs on here that didn't have much hardcore, and those songs were quite good. Actually, when they're playing the punk straight up they are very talented and kick out the music with the best of them. But when they go to the more hardcore beats, they lose a lot. Maybe it's just me. But no matter what form they're playing, the bass always shines through like the sun after it has stopped raining on a sunny day. If it weren't for the bass, I don't think I would have listened to it as many times as I did. But, after seriously thinking it over the music to me was just to rough and brutal, and it didn't flow with me. I would say that 25%-35% of it though was just straight up punk, and that was the percentage I liked. So it wasn't all a waste. But you don't want to wade through songs you don't like, to get to the good ones. You also don't want to always be running to your CD player. So for me, the CD just wasn't that good.

These guys know how to play their instruments, and that's a plus. You can tell they feel comfortable playing everything brutally fast and harsh, and that's definitely a plus too! The bass player himself is the star of the band, and breaks through the music with some great bass lines. Other than that, I really didn't get into the CD. I'll give it a C+.

Stormclouds: Not of this Earth

Strange Ways, The: Corporate Monkey

[Issue Two // September-October 1997]