Download issue as PDF - SLUG Magazine

\ especially annoying, going off\Iike a barrage of fireworkswhile you're trying to sleepoff a hangover. I couldn't figu\-eout if the drummer(s)were playing stuffed pillowsor Iupperware, but it definitelysounded weak & dragging.,To top it all off, thesinge] really sounded toomuch'Iika CRASH TESTDUMMIES, which has beenknown to cause suicide inlaboratory test animals inclinical studies outside theU.S. I didn't have the heart tosubject myself to this albummore than once. I wonder,"Can You?"Billy FishThe OffspringIxnay On The HombreColumbiaDoes this one bringback a few memories. I canremember when I trashedSmash in these pages all thoseyears ago . Some dumb fuckpunk rocker sent a death .threat. I believe his name wasCody something or other.Next thing ya know Smashhad sold a few million andCody was off pretending hewas on the cutting edge withsomething else. How do theOffspring sound now thatthey are employed by Sony?About the same as theysounded when they wereemployed by Epitaph. I'mmissing the surf and there isonly one ska tune, "WayDown The Line." The discopens pleasantly enough withthe biggest sell-out of allpunk rockers, Jello Biafra,giving a spoken word introduction. "The Meaning OfLife" is the basic power-poppunkliterally thousands ofbands have attempted to cashin on since Smash broke punk."Mota" is the same. After thatthings become tepid and Iwas longing for the"Intermission." Intermission'sover and they corne back withthis years monster hit single,"" All I Want." I rose from thecouch to crank the volumeseveral times. I guess I'm justa sucker for this punk rockstuff. The Offspring can do itamazingly well as long asthey stick with the up tempotunes. Far to much of IxnayOn The Hombre is mid-tempostriving to be commercial andit tends to drag in the middleand towards the end. At leastthey end with speed and a .sing-a-long, What would apop-punk record be like withouta sing-a-Iong or too?"Change The World" will bethe second single. I'm surethese boys are so tired of thesell-out tag by now that theycan barely tour. I thought .they sold out with Smash. I dobelieve I wrote something tothat effect months before therecord smashed the charts tobits, but it's just another poppunkrecord to me.IllbientTerrorgruppeUber AmerikaBYO RecordsWhat the hell can yousay about punk rock inGerman? I admit I dig themusic, but was left at thecrossroads when it came tofiguring out the lyrics to thewhole bloody mess. Luckilythey threw some Englishtranslations, but that onlyuncovered how damn sillymost of the songs were, yappingon about sleeping in toolate & dealing with hangovers.I wasn't too impressedeither with the little letter atthe front of the linear notesripping on American culture,especially when they're beenimported into the states toobviously make a little cash,if any. Europeans(especiallyex-fascist/satellite nations!)kill me when they bitch aboutthe USA & all its ill socialstates, as if we don't alreadyknow how fucked up it isfirsthand, already living here.Most of these countries,Germany being a lovelyexample, have a few problemsof their own to contendwith, which is noted here &there on the disc with anobvious delivery(Wow, interesting...yawn!). I guess on aworldwide scale punk bandslike to bitch a lot, but few• really sink deeper than thegiven surface we all seeeveryday. Other than thechange in language, same oldscene. Dig it, or don't!Billy FishStillsuitAt The Speed Of LightBuilding/TVTStillsuit representsTVTs entry into the crowdedhardcore market. Some woulddismiss them on sightbecause we have enteredanother rehashing of thedisco era . Stillsuit are barelyout of their teens and theycome from New York City.They seem to have missedout on this new "disco" fadand they haven't includedany power pop or ska in theirmusic .What this meansladies and gentlemen is thereis more meat (with apologiesto the vegans) than mashedpotato fluff. Stillsuit are loud,abrasive, hard and heavy.More than anything theyremind me of a male 7 YearBitch. The comparison isprobably lost on the vastmajority of the skankin' d iscofools, but At The Speed OfLight bears all the trademarks.Have a listen to "Another BadMovie" and see if it doesn'tremind you of the Bitches.These kids almostmade the Earth Crisis tour forthe Salt Lake City date. Goodthing they didn't becauseEarth Crisis might have difficultyfindinga venue willingto book them in the future.Nothing against the band, it'sthe audience stupid. Anotherreason I bring up Earth Crisisis because their latest albumhas received some negativereviews. I saw one where thewriter begged for La Rocheinvolvement, as if. Hardcoreis out of the mainstream spotlightand back in the 'zines.But back to the subject of 7Year Bitch. "Rush Hour" forinstance, or how about "WillTo Die"? Was Gaia Negro aninspiration? It sure as hellsounds like it. Since 7 YearBitch received a negativereview in these pages everythingmakes sense. Stillsuittakes a more experimentalapproach to the clang andbang with tempo changes andtime signatures mutating allover the album. Those intohardcore and the metalinclined are once again invitedto listen for free and buyindependent.Mr. ButtrockerSky Cries MaryMoonbathing On SleepingLeavesWarner BrothersIt feels a bit strange tokeystroke Warner Brothersbeneath the title of Sky CriesMary's latest CD. They 'vealways been a WorldDomination band to me, butthe world moves on and SkyCries Mary have moved up tothe Big Show. I spend far toomuch time listening to thealmost incoherent jabberingof individuals who believethe tip of space/progressiverock has entered their anusand wound up in their brain.Rush , Yes, King Crimson andAdrian Belew's solo work areheld up as objects of worship