Cro-Mags - Revenge
You wouldn't be blamed for giving up on these guys after the atrocious "Near Death Experience" or even the marginally ok "Alpha-Omega" but I guess I'm a glutton for punishment for the killer bands of my youth. That's not to say I bought this on blind faith. I heard Perris Mitchell Mayhew was back in the band and a quick glance of him and Harley on the cover of this record confirms it. He was the driving creative force behind their classic debut "Age Of Quarrel" and the more metallic follow up "Best Wishes". Those are both utter classics in my book so hearing he was back was all the incentive I needed to pick this up.
Needless to say I was not disappointed. This doesn't touch their groundbreaking early work but this is a very solid record that finally deserves to bear the Cro-Mags name. Musically it's sort of bi-polar with a hardcore song followed by a kind of hard-edged pop punk song pretty much throughout the entire record. While I enjoy the hardcore songs, the big surprise is how good the poppy songs are. Not only are they snappy, well-written with some great hooks, but Harley shows off his range by singing in a bit higher octave. Plus they maintain a keen edge to the guitars so it doesn't come across as bubblegum punk at all. It kind of makes you wonder if they could have had a second career outside of Cro-Mags playing this style.
Of course most of you will be interested to hear if this delivers the hardcore goods and it definitely does. The hardcore songs sound like a crossover between the straightforward speed and aggression of "Age Of Quarrel" and the metallic leanings of "Best Wishes" with Harley's trademark bass playing powering through the mix. That means there are some definite chugging rhythms and big solos that might throw off traditionalists but there's plenty of balls out blazing hardcore as well.
Basically this is a pretty stunning return to form for the Cro-Mags. It might put off a few whiners due to some pop punk lyrics and songs but ultimately this is a hardcore record in the tradition of their earliest work, full of top notch hardcore songs punctuated by Harley's upfront bass playing and aggressive vocals. Fans of this type of hardcore/metal crossover will certainly hear a lot to like here and any fan of the old Cro-Mags will pick their jaw up off the floor at how good this record is after some questionable releases. Sadly I heard they disbanded once again after this one record so looks like this is it...at least until they reform again!
Needless to say I was not disappointed. This doesn't touch their groundbreaking early work but this is a very solid record that finally deserves to bear the Cro-Mags name. Musically it's sort of bi-polar with a hardcore song followed by a kind of hard-edged pop punk song pretty much throughout the entire record. While I enjoy the hardcore songs, the big surprise is how good the poppy songs are. Not only are they snappy, well-written with some great hooks, but Harley shows off his range by singing in a bit higher octave. Plus they maintain a keen edge to the guitars so it doesn't come across as bubblegum punk at all. It kind of makes you wonder if they could have had a second career outside of Cro-Mags playing this style.
Of course most of you will be interested to hear if this delivers the hardcore goods and it definitely does. The hardcore songs sound like a crossover between the straightforward speed and aggression of "Age Of Quarrel" and the metallic leanings of "Best Wishes" with Harley's trademark bass playing powering through the mix. That means there are some definite chugging rhythms and big solos that might throw off traditionalists but there's plenty of balls out blazing hardcore as well.
Basically this is a pretty stunning return to form for the Cro-Mags. It might put off a few whiners due to some pop punk lyrics and songs but ultimately this is a hardcore record in the tradition of their earliest work, full of top notch hardcore songs punctuated by Harley's upfront bass playing and aggressive vocals. Fans of this type of hardcore/metal crossover will certainly hear a lot to like here and any fan of the old Cro-Mags will pick their jaw up off the floor at how good this record is after some questionable releases. Sadly I heard they disbanded once again after this one record so looks like this is it...at least until they reform again!
