Album Review: AC/DC – High Voltage (1976)

AC/DC has a new album coming out later this year (the beginning of December if that date holds true).  That's an exciting bit of news, so in honor of the band I am giving them the Sabbath treatment.  For the next few weeks we are going to go album by album through the AC/DC catalogue and give quick rundowns of each one.  All of the studio albums will be on display, concluding with their newest Rock or Bust.  We kick things off with the Bon Scott era and High Voltage.

 Overview:

The first American album, High Voltage hit in 1976 (there were two albums before this one that were released solely in Australia).   The sleaze of Bon Scott’s vocals along with the guitar playing of Angus Young was not enough to garner international acclaim from the time it was released (but it is an album that has aged very well as songs like “T.N.T.” and “High Voltage” still receive extensive airplay.

Tracks you may know: 

T.N.T. – This and probably anything off Back in Black are the most played songs in the band’s catalogue.  While the song itself holds up, the amount of overplay it has received causes me to cringe every time I hear “Oy, Oy, Oy”.

Live Wire – I enjoy this track more for the guitar solo in the middle of it than anything else.  Angus is just so underappreciated.  I often overlook his musical contributions as well, but looking back on his work, holy shit that guy could play.

It’s A Long Way to the Top (If You Want to Rock & Roll) – I can do without the bagpipes, but the song holds up very well.

Tracks you should know:

The Jack – Equal parts blues, rock, sleaze and innuendo (seriously, Bon Scott could have given Steven Tyler a run for his money in the innuendo department) this is a track that should be on everyone’s playlist forever.

My personal favorite:

The Jack – You probably assumed this would be my pick, right?  It doesn’t hurt that many of the “radio friendly” songs have been overplayed (seriously, I could skip over “T.N.T.” and be perfectly fine never hearing it again)

Album rating: 

High Voltage was a solid opening salvo from AC/DC that definitely put all their cards on the table for the Bon Scott years.  There were going to be catchy tracks with killer guitar riffs and a vocalist that makes you want to go shower after hearing him sing.  It was not the best album in their catalogue (tracks like “Little Lover” and “She’s Got Balls” are okay, but not essential listening) but it was a very good one, and a great start to their career.

7/10

Cheer Up

Shrimpy is oddly excited about visiting a slaughterhouse.  Sometimes I think he's the weird one and everyone else is normal.

Symbolism

Seriously, that's a real place in New Jersey, as are all the places in this storyline.  I have not been to all of them but I did research them for this story and holy shit is Jersey a messed up place.

Not So New Comic Review: Galactic Guardians (1994) #2

            We open this issue where we left off, with Woden fighting Silverback.  They continue to pummel one another until Woden decides to send them to Earth, because apparently the Martians didn’t do enough damage. 

            We are back  on Mainframe’s homeworld where Replica is just returning to her regular size after investigating Mainframe’s illness.  She is carrying a piece of the goo that she found last issue that seemed to be literally gumming up Mainframe.  All of a sudden she doubles over in pain.  The goo that she picked up has somehow entered her body and is wreaking all kinds of havoc on her.  Martinex quickly takes Replica to the med-lab to diagnose and treat her condition (goo infestation?)

            As Martinex is playing doctor, we travrl out in to space where Firelord has come across an alien named Haxmat.  Again, I would like to point out Kevin West’s character designs.  There are some instances, especially on the regular series where he looks like he’s mailing it in, but when it comes to this series in particular, and especially the new villain character designs, West is on point from the get-go.  Firelord tangles with Hazmat but is taken out of commission early on (some protector of the universe he is) and it’s Ghost Rider to the rescue. 

            Back on Earth, Woden and Silverback crash land on a desolate patch of ground.  Their battle continues and carries them into a nearby lake, where they are greeted by a creepy octopus/crab monster.  The seismic activity associated with their touchdown on Earth registers as far away as New York City, where Tarin is pining away for Hollywood.

            Speaking of Hollywood…he is still arguing with Vision.  All of a sudden their argument ceases as a spaceship crash lands near them.  They both go to check it out and are ambushed by Savant, who wipes their minds, leaving them as piles on the ground.  Savant then decides to have a little fun and give them back just enough of their memories so that they remember that they hate each other.  This causes them to duke it out in deep space. 

            Back on the Guardians’ ship Firelord is in the Med-Bay as well, and while he heals Martinex checks on Replica, who feels better, but that’s only because whatever is inside her is lying dormant.  When she uses her shapeshifting powers it comes to the forefront, bursting forth from her mouth and knocking her out.  This is the final villain revealed this issue as Ganglia makes its presence known. 

            So, for a head count…we have Martinex and Ghost Rider, that’s it.  Everyone else is incapacitated in some form or another.

            Next Issue: Is this the end of the Galactic Guardians? Will they not even be able to finish out their limited series?  Oh the humanity!   

First Stop

Fred actually has a pretty interesting "origin story" so to speak, which will actually be revealed down the line, so stay tuned!

New Music Review – Slash: World on Fire

                Slash has been at this for a long time and while most people love his contributions to Guns ‘N Roses far more than anything else he has done, I have to admit that later-era Slash is quickly becoming my favorite version.  For a quick Slash history lesson, he started out in Guns ‘N Roses (instead of Tracii Guns who went on to form LA Guns), and when Axl Rose did Axl Rose things and G’N’R (at least it’s most popular incarnation) disbanded.  Slash went on to form Slash’s Snakepit (which bares quite the resemblance to his current work) and then formed the supergroup Velvet Revolver with Duff and Matt from G’N’R as well as vocalist and heroin cautionary tale Scott Weiland.  I have a feeling, if Weiland had not done Weiland things, that Velvet Revolver would still be going today.  Alas that was not the case and Slash ventured out on his own.  His  initial solo album was a collaborative effort, everyone from Ozzy to Lemmy to Fergie played a role.  It was here that the current incarnation of the band was formed when he partnered with Myles Kennedy.  That brings us to now and the band of Slash; Featuring Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators.

                I’m not going to lie, I was never a huge Myles Kennedy fan, even during my review of Apocalyptic Love upon its release I mentioned how I was unimpressed by the vocals.  Myles grew on me every time I listened to that album (and it was  a lot) and while I will never count him as one of my favorite vocalists, his presence on World on Fire was not as jarring as it was on the initial playthroughs of Apocalyptic Love.  His range as a vocalist is incredible and he meshes with Slash and the Conspirators better than anyone save maybe Axl Rose.

                As good as Kennedy is on this album (as well as the Conspirators, let’s not discount their contribution) this is a Slash album through and through.  The guitar work is beautiful throughout, with a very Iron Maiden-esque galloping guitar style playing a prominent role on the last two albums.  Not that Slash has changed his style at all, but I have definitely noticed that style more with this band.  Slash has grown as a guitar player throughout his various projects (and that’s saying a lot for someone that was a legend after his first G’N’R album) and I have enjoyed seeing that journey, and conversely, can’t wait to see where it goes next.

                While the album is good, it definitely has an Apocalyptic Love – Side B feel to it.  I am hard-pressed to find anything too new or different on this album.  This is not a bad thing at all, who really wants to reinvent themselves every two years or so, but in terms of the tracks on Apocalyptic Love and those on World on Fire, it feels like they were written at the same time and then split, almost like Use Your Illusion I and II, an inadvertent double album so to speak.  To be honest, that is perfectly fine with me, the more music Slash releases, the happier everyone will be.  Now to just get him to tour around the Central New York area…

Hooked on Phonics

I would actually like to hear The Situation try to read Hop on Pop.  It would be the funniest thing I've seen all year.

New Jersey Themed Entertainment

If I was stuck in a car listening to that, I would find the nearest tree and wrap myself around it.

fyi - I got reeeeeally tired of drawing the interior of that car by the end of this storyline.

Not So New Comic Review: Galactic Guardians (1994) #1

            A new title!  A new team!  The same creative team behind it though, so let’s see if it’s just more of the same.  For those of you uninitiated with the Galactic Guardians, it is an offshoot of the Guardians of the Galaxy, made up of characters that the Guardians have encountered in their first fifty issues, led by former Guardian Martinex.  Okay, everyone on board?  Let’s proceed. 

            We begin by finding out that Mainframe, the computer consciousness of former Avenger Vision is ill and must take himself off-line.  This is obviously not a good thing as Mainframe actually powers a world of thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people.  If he just quit it would mean chaos and certain death.  There is a back up plan though, and it means taking the most powerful member of the Galactic Guardians out of commission.  Phoenix must use his power to keep the world going while Mainframe is shut down.  Way to stack the odds against the team from the get-go. 

            Martinex dispatches the rest of the Galactic Guardians, at this point only Firelord and Ghost Rider, to deal with an external threat while sending Replica into Mainframe in order to determine what the problem is that requires a shut down.  Replica gladly obliges and we leave her to exploring as our attention turns to Hollywood who is pissed that he had to fight Overkill over in the Guardians of the Galaxy book so he takes it out on the poor alien that gave him the information.  Just as he’s about to get information out of the little alien guy he is blipped out of existence. 

            Back to Replica, who is still in the midst of searching through Mainframe when she comes across a pile of goo.  Martinex tells her to take a sample and she resists so he goes all Vance Astro and tells her to do her job.  Now, I understand being firm when dealing with a team member that is not performing, but why is every “leader” character that Gallagher writes the exact same cookie cutter?  It’s like all he did was watch the old Fox X-Men cartoon and copy Cyclops’ dialogue. 

            Back to Hollywood, who is now on an isolated planet with Vision, in his old Avengers getup.  We get to learn why Hollywood is so pissed at Vision, and it all stems around the fact that during the War of the Worlds, all the heroes died and instead of Hollywood being there to help, he was teleported away by Vision at the last moment.  He blames Vision for not letting him die with the heroes. 

            We now switch our focus to the rainbow bridge of Asgard as Heimdall comes to face with Silverback, a strange alien creature who wants entry.  Heimdall denies him this so he does what any self-respecting monster would do and attacks him.  This can’t stand though and Woden, Thor’s kid, shows up to beat him back.  And that’s how it ends…for now.

            We do get the second part of Future History though that tells us what happened to the mutants and how they left the planet early and came to settle on Haven.  In short, it’s a concise version of the history we saw thirty some issues ago.

            Next Issue:  More fun with Woden, and Martinex acts like a douche.    

Garden State

I lived in New Jersey for four years and could never come up with a good reason why it was called the "Garden State".

Late to the Party Video Game Review – Darksiders II

                I was a huge fan of Joe Madureira when I was growing up, as were most people interested in comics in the ‘90s.  When he left to work in video games, it was a dark day indeed, but luckily we only had to wait damn near forever for the first Darksiders game to come out.  The game itself was a lot of fun, very Legend of Zelda with a darker and more mature tone to it.  The character designs were obviously stunning as well.  Being that the game was about the four horsemen of the apocalypse, and the first game only featured one of the horsemen, you would expect there to be at least one sequel.  Thankfully we did not have to wait nearly as long for Darksiders II.

                Darksiders II features a new cast of characters (you play as Death, War’s brother this time around) yet they still have the same “Joe Mad” design sense that makes them instantly appealing and a visual treat.  The game mechanics in the sequel are a little different as War was a bruiser while death is a bit quicker and lighter on his feet.  You can still equip slower weapons like maces and clubs, but who would want to?  Death also has the ability to run along walls (much more so than War did in the first game) making the puzzles a bit more interesting this time around. 

                This game definitely feels like a sequel to the first game as it is very similar in terms of its approach.  It definitely still falls under the hack/slash mold of video games where you kill a bunch of enemies and then move forward until you approach more enemies to kill, with a few puzzles thrown in for good measure.  The sequel does add in a bit more in the way of RPG elements in terms of giving Death different weapons or armor to enhance stats that the first game just did not offer.  While this adds a fun bit of customization to your character (and god-bless the animators as whatever armor you place on death shows up in the subsequent cutscenes) and you definitely get to play around with a multitude of different weapons (there are many different scythes to try and your secondary weapon can be anything from claws to maces) it doesn’t do a whole lot besides provide you with the loot to load up on health and wrath potions to get you through boss-fights (something I didn’t bother doing until later in the game).

                The world is very open while still directing you where you need to go and the collectables are plentiful (if that’s your thing).  The enemies can be a little intense at times, they either are incredibly powerful or there are so many that they tend to swarm you, but it is nothing but a momentary blip on the radar if you use your special abilities (the zombies are particularly effective even though they are quite the wrath-drain).  The majority of the bosses are difficult but not impossible, with most requiring that you do something with your most recently acquired gadget (a la Legend of Zelda) in order to defeat them.  While the bosses were generally challenging, especially figuring out that little “trick” that would help you defeat them, the final two bosses, who were straight-up hack and slash until they’re dead were incredibly easy.  For a point of reference, the scribe, the level boss right before you face the final two bosses was so difficult that I had to turn the difficulty from “normal” to “easy” (I know, I’m a pussy) after continually dying (I put it back after beating him).  While the final two bosses, I believe that I may have died once, if at all between the two.  The respite was nice, but I kind of expected more to finish off the game.

                All in all, this was a solid game, one I wish I had played a little more consistently when I bought it instead of letting it sit and coming back to it, but I had a lot of fun with it.  I’m sure it’s really cheap now so I would advise checking it out.  The stages have been set and I’ve heard rumblings of a third installment, so if we all cross our fingers it won’t happen too late for the 360 console generation (because there’s no way I’m spending the money on an xbox one)

Guidebook

This might be one of my favorite strips in terms of the artwork.  

I do like the fact that the New Jersey guidebook is a used napkin as well, it makes it feel more real.

Prowess

And with that we wrap up another storyline.  Tune in next Monday for the start of a bit of a road-trip.

Not So New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #50

                It’s double-sized anniversary issue time again!  Here are the major dangling plotlines that you would hope are resolved (or at least pretty close to resolved) in a double-sized issue:

                The fate of Starhawk and Aleta.

                Talon vs. Mephisto/Malevolence

                Who or what is Ripjak?

                Vance’s new suit?

                What is going to be done about the Beyonder and the Protégé?

                We begin wrapping up plotlines by visiting with Talon who, surprise, surprise is getting hit in the back.  He is currently being tortured by Malevolence until he relinquishes control of his amulet.  He continues to resist and instead just flat out escapes.  Why he couldn’t have done this last issue, or at least before his injuries accumulated I have no idea, but it sure seems like the Guardians only use their powers when it is convenient in terms of the plot.  Well, for whatever reason, Talon uses his magic, gets away and then complains about his back even more while doing so.  Unfortunately, in getting away he runs right into Mephisto, so that plan didn’t work too well after all. 

                From that we go to Yondu, who is having some sort of fire-centric spirit dream.  He snaps out of it only to be confronted by the cold reality that he is still standing in the hand of a Celestial amongst the Gods of the Marvel Universe.  We are delivered back to the harsh reality that last issue displayed to us.  The man-child known as the Protégé, Joffrey Baratheon before there was a Joffrey Baratheon, is now an omnipotent being, along the likes of the Living Tribunal.  In order to counteract Joffrey, the Gods must band together, using all their energy to teach that punk kid a lesson.  This means that the Hawk God needs to let Starhawk and Aleta go so that he can focus his energy on more pressing matters.  He does just that.  They no longer have any powers, but at least they’re alive. 

                As the Protégé gets attacked by the Gods, he determines that his best course of action is to call in his own fighting force in the form of Mephisto and Malevolence.  Of course when he teleports them in, Talon tags along.  All bringing in Mephisto and Malevolence does is give the Guardians someone to duke it out with.  They can’t fight Gods so they were going to spend their entire anniversary issue on the sidelines if it wasn’t for the summoning of villains more their speed. 

                Everyone continues to fight until the Protégé determines he’s had enough.  Before he can destroy everyone though, the Celestial blasts him.  The only character that has done nothing for the better part of three issues has finally decided to join the fracas, and has turned the tide for the good guys.  Of course.  Whenever something needs to wrap up quickly in this comic it falls to whatever Deus Ex Machina Michael Gallagher has dreamed up at that moment.  Thank the Celestials there’s only twelve more issues to go in this series.

                Wait a minute though, were you concerned that we haven’t heard from the mutants in a while?  You’re in luck because we get to check in with them as well.  We get the chance to see that they have created a perfect clone of Charlie-27, one that Rancor mutilates straight away.

                Back in the realm of the Gods, the Protégé is captured, encased in energy, something that literally could have happened two issues ago.  Now that we’re wrapping things up, the Hawk God has decreed that he will permit Starhawk to live again, but Aleta doesn’t want the power, she would rather be with Vance…until she turns around and realizes that he is just a guy in a containment suit again and no longer has that sweet headband.  Starhawk is therefore granted the full complement of his powers, but the Hawk God has one last trick up his sleeve as he tells Starhawk that the parents he thought he knew, were not really his, but were really just fattening him up to make a meal of him.  The Gods then banish the Beyonder to his own universe.  He is lonely here, being omnipotent is hard after all, but he realizes that because he gave the suit to Vance, he can use it to spy on the Guardians through Vance, he has a connection to that other universe. 

                The Gods then place the Protégé in an hourglass which is quickly filling with sand as his punishment.  The Guardians get all bent out of shape about this and the Living Tribunal just blinks them out of existence and back to their own universe instead of listening to them.  Instead of crying over the fate of the Protégé, Vance asks Yondu if he’ll rejoin the team, which he agrees to, even though a few issues ago he was pissed at the Guardians for screwing up his homeworld, and while Starhawk and Aleta fixed the timeline, I don’t think anyone has mentioned that to Yondu.  He must have just forgot. 

                To wrap up the anniversary issue, we have Uilig, the last Watcher telling us the story of the War of the Worlds, because we haven’t heard that three or four times already.  The excerpt in this issue does nothing but tell us everything we already know from every other recap as well as a general recap of the first fifty issues of this series. 

                Next Issue: We take a slight detour and check out the Galactic Guardians limited series.  It’s four issues of…fun I guess?

The Plight of the Boxer

I have to imagine the endorsement deals are few and far between for post-fight boxers.

Late to the Party Video Game Review: New Super Mario Bros. U

                I would venture a guess that 95% of people that have ever played video games have played Super Mario Brothers in some iteration.  This is not a bad thing, the Mario Brothers games are awesome and were many child’s “gateway drug” to video games.  They are incredibly fun to play, with enough of a challenge to keep even a serious gamer busy (and frustrated at times).  The main problem is that once you play one Super Mario Bros. game, you’ve pretty much played them all.  Don’t let Nintendo try to tell you any different either, because their definition of a different Mario experience apparently consists of new suits that do the same things as before (seriously, a leaf, a feather, an acorn, they all make you float).

                I do understand Nintendo releasing a new Mario game with each new system, obviously you want to keep your flagship character relevant.  What I have an issue with is the fact that I have played this game before, and not just a game like this one, but this exact game.  Pretty much every side-scrolling Mario game is the exact same since the unheralded success of Super Mario Bros. 3, and while sticking to a formula is never a bad thing, making the exact same game with better graphics is.  This is not to take away from the fun of the game, it was a good time, but it offered nothing new at all. 

                The game starts off easy enough and gets progressively more difficult as the “worlds” progress.  The individual stages are what is difficult though, not the bosses, those are still incredibly easy, jump on their head three times and they’re dead.  It does seem like this version of the game took a page out of the book of New Super Mario Bros. 2 for the 3DS and made the acquisition of 1ups and extra lives that much easier (and boy do you need it in certain spots).  I was damn-near ready to give up at one point after dying multiple times in a row and getting stuck on a random stage for a good forty minutes.  My perseverance paid off though and I made it to the next tough stage before eventually beating Bowser and saving the princess (yet again). 

                The graphics in this game are downright beautiful, fully utilizing the HD capability of the WiiU.  The controls are still the same as they ever were, except the jump button and the “run” button have a strange configuration (to me at least) which led to a few painful deaths.  The controls are easy to get used to, especially if this isn’t your first Mario game, and do not really take away from the game at all.  The addition of Yoshi, even though it is few and far between, is nice as well.  The “worlds” you have to traverse are similar as well: traditional, desert, ice, water (ugh, water), giant, cloud, Koopa castle, etc., and while they are fun in their own right, are way too similar to anything else we’ve played over the past twenty years when it comes to this series. 

                In short, if this is your first Mario game, or your first in a while, you’ll be happily surprised that this franchise has stayed exactly the same.  If you are not new to the series, don’t waste your money (it’s still nearly $50) when you can just download Super Mario Bros. 3 from the Eshop for $10. 

Civilized

Mike Tyson is one thivilized thumbitch as well, just ask him.

Yes Sluggy, Yes You Are

I want a business card with "Master of Gumdrop Mountain" on it.  

Sounds legit.

Too legit, in fact.

Too legit to quit.

Hey

Hey

Not So New Comic Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (1991) #49

                We pick up this issue right where we left off at the end of number forty-eight.  That means that the Guardians are still in some random, crazy dimension due to Talon’s teleportation.  It kind of looks like every random dimension Dr. Strange teleports people to, but Talon has no idea.  To add to that, Yellowjacket touches him on the shoulder and he continues to whine about his back.  Man up, Talon.

                We make a quick pit-stop with Mephisto, still in his fat dread-locked bird getup, and Malevolence, who are trying to figure out where the Guardians went, before heading back to the realm of Gods where we find the Beyonder and the Protégé still held captive.  If you remember correctly, Starhawk and Aleta have journeyed to this realm, a place where Mortals generally do not go, in order to get the Hawk God to release them from their “time-out”.  Instead, the Hawk God gives them an even worse time-out.  He strips them of their physical forms and holds them captive as beings of energy.  So be careful what you wish for.

                Before we can get to any more action, it’s backstory time again!  This time, we get to learn all about the Hawk God and why he is the red-headed stepchild of the Gods.  Apparently, the Hawk God has quite the temper.  Because of this he was confined as a statue until Starhawk and Aleta (not yet superpowered but still husband and wife/brother and sister) woke him up. 

                Now we are back in the crazy dimension where Talon has finally found his footing and is able to lock on the Beyonder’s remnant energy pattern to find his way out.  Just as he teleports the Guardians to the side of the Beyonder in the realm of the Gods, he is snatched away by Mephisto through some crazy, evil magic.  We are left with a cliffhanger though as the Hawk God decides now is the time to dispense his judgment. 

                That cliffhanger leads us to a random planet in the Guardians’ galaxy where two interplanetary police officers (I know this because they have the word “constabulary” written on their ship) are looking for an intergalactic serial killer named Ripjak.  Instead, they get a meeting with the mutant Mindscan who offers them clues to the whereabouts of Ripjak.  However, she will only give it to one of them, so one of the officers straight up murders the other guy.

                If you thought you were done with Talon for this issue, think again!  We make a quick stop into the Beyonder’s universe that has been redecorated by Mephisto to look more like Hell.  As Mephisto tries to take Talon’s amulet (the one given to him by Dr. Strange) he is reminded that it can’t be simply taken by anyone, it has to be voluntarily provided by Talon (kind of like Thor’s hammer).  When Talon refuses to give it willingly to Mephisto, Malevolence takes matters into her own hands by shooting him in the back yet again.  Now we get to listen to him bitch about that some more.

 

                Back in the realm of the Gods, shit just got real as the Protégé has learned all of the powers of the omnipotent beings in the vicinity and has become all-powerful. 

                Next issue: It’s the fifty-issue anniversary, and we get more of the same, just double-sized.

Sanctum Sanctorum

What better way to wind down after a fight than with a little game of Yahtzee!

Masochist Music review Amen Death Before Musick

What can I say, I’m a masochist when it comes to music.  I like to have complete catalogues when it comes to my favorite musicians.  Sometimes this is a good thing (Alice Cooper, AC/DC) but oftentimes it’s not.  Not only that, but I used to fall into the trap of hearing one or two great songs and purchasing a whole album because of it, which sometimes produced a diamond, but usually only coal.  During this series, we will dwell on some of the albums I have in my collection that are downright terrible.  I will re-listen to them all and give you my impression of them.

Now this is only my opinion, so don’t take it as gospel.  If you like a particular album in this series, let me know, we’ll open up a discussion about it.  I’m always open to discussing the merits of any particular album, and if you have any suggestions (and especially if you have the album itself and are willing to share your views) then let me know and I’d be happy to add it to the list.

Album Name:  Death Before Musick

Artist:  Amen

Release Date:  2004

Why you bought it:  Amen opened for Brides of Destruction back in 2004.  I went for the headliner but enjoyed the energy that Amen brought to the performance so figured I would give their most recent (at that time) album a try. 

First impressions:  While the energy was there, the music was pretty damn unintelligible and, in my opinion, downright unlistenable.  Without the live act to back it up, the music didn’t really hold up.

Impressions upon listening to it recently:  It’s all way too similar in tempo and ferocity to really be good listening.  Maybe I’m just getting old, but I’d rather hear something, anything else interspersed within the album, a guitar solo, something to break up the unrelenting wall of noise.

Any saving grace?:  Sometimes the hooks in the songs are a little catchy, but between the screaming and the unrelenting wall of noise, nothing really stands out.

Was it worth the purchase?:  Nope.

The Man Behind the Mask

When in doubt, always identify the losing boxer by his injury.