This album is very abrasive, and very loud. Screeching guitars, pounding drums, a tight, whipping bass and violent screams are the common formula for this album. For the most part I couldn't get into it. It was just too angry for me to find my interest. Anger is one thing, I can understand it, but melodic anger comes across a lot better than just slamming your instruments and making violent rock. But there were moments on this album that were catchy, and full of hooks. Take "Fondle" for instance. The beginning was just another heavy metal riff after another, but then they threw something new your way and spun around the music with some melody and hooks. The anger was still there, but this time you could jump around, sing along, and just have fun with it. That's the best way to get your message across, allowing others to feel it and sing along with it. But for the most part, the melodic hooks are few and far between. Without them, they're just another heavy rock band saturating the market. A lighter sound, more hooks, and the same lyrics could go a long way.

This band was just too heavy and generic for me to get into. Slamming your guitars and screaming is one way to get your message across, but it's been done to death. If they would just follow through and carry out more of their hearty hooks, they could earn a national name for themselves. But as it stands, they've got a lot to learn. I'll give this album a C.

It's A Damned Damned Damned World: A Tribute to the Damned

Ivet: Sickhouse

[Issue Seven // April 1998]