reviews:
The Offspring: Ixnay on the Hombre
On: Shifting Skin
One Minute Silence: Buy Now, Saved Later
Orange 9MM: Pretend I'm Human
Orgy: Candyass

The Offspring: Ixnay on the Hombre After I listened to this again, I realized how much these four men rock ass. I saw them live in the summer of '99, and I was totally blown away. They are arguably one of the best bands that really doesn't have a musical label to conform to. This is the departure from Epitaph and jump to a major label. It mixes punk, rock and even some aspects of metal to make some very compelling music, and this album has all those amazing aspects. This isn't really punk anymore, but really good really fast hard rock. "Meaning of Life" is self explanatory. "All I Want" kicks ass as well. The best song is "Gone Away", a tribute to a lost friend. If you're one of the idiots who thought the Offspring sold out, fuck yourself. They have substance now.

On: Shifting Skin Whether or not you believe me, what I say is the truth: Ken Andrews has created his vision of the future of music. Of all the post-Failure bands and groups, this is by far the most impressive of them all. Failure seems like a testing ground compared to On's huge palette of tools and musical inspiration. Acoustic guitars and bass with drums are covered by electronics and machines, bringing a new dimension to the music. The additional programming helps on levels that it doesn't sound like it would, since most of these songs are the classic type we've all grown to enjoy: the love song. Andrew's tales of wanting and needing sound neither corny nor cheesy, but rather are told with the utmost sincerity and with genuine feeling. Another nice aspect is that this album has no dragging moments or parts where the songs aren't distinctive, problems that Failure had once or twice. However, that's really unfair, since the two are like apples and oranges, and aren't really the same at all. Failure was a collective. On is one man's vision, and a stunning one at that.

One Minute Silence: Buy Now, Saved Later Damn, Irish people are crazy. This quartet of Brits, headed by Yap, their vocalist, create some of the mst hard hitting, brain rattling political rap influxed rock since Rage Against the Machine. Don't get me wrong, they don't sound like Rage. RATM has a more crystal clear message, while One Minute Silence focus on life in general. On first listen, this album rocked my world. The first single, "Holy Man," is a whirlwind, one second with rattling guitars and the lot, the next with a softer breakdown. "16 Stone Pig" and "210 Dog Years" also rocked. This album lacked a little, as there is some filler. What I love the most is that the bass has a more prominent role than in most groups today. Yap has one of the most unique voices in hard rock today, which is a good thing. I highly suggest this. The first album disappointed me, but One Minute Silence came back and came back harder, faster, and more experienced to give one of my darkhorses for the best album of 2000.

Orange 9MM: Pretend I'm Human For a few years now, Orange 9MM has been the must unjustly ignored band out of New York. They pioneered the east coast rap/metal movement, starting at about the same time as Rage Against the Machine after singer Chaka Malik's old band Burn broke up. Orange 9MM has been an outstanding example of what it's like to be ignored by many and embraced by few. Before this album, each of their recordings had all come out on different labels (this album and 1998's Ultraman Vs. Godzilla EP both came out on Ng Records), and one of the those labels was Atlantic Records. So after a gap in which they lost yet another member (that's four or five, I believe total), Orange 9MM has returned with this, their most technological, and, unfortunately, their weakest. On this album they've embraced keybaords, studio effects and production, and a more hip-hop approach. None of those elements is bad, but they seem so focused on making the record sound cool that they took all the heart out of it. The guitars and bass are inaudible and the drums sound like a machine as below average raps flow over keyboard trickery. The lyrics are where this album takes a major blow, though. Chaka Malik was always one of the best lyricists around, but everything here sounds generic. This album is also hard when you realize that this is Orange 9MM. Let me repeat, Orange 9fuckinMM. That a band this good turned downwards so abruptly is a major surprise, and is a major disappointment in what was one of the most anticipated releases of the year.

Orgy: Candyass These guys annoy me. They're riding the Korn wave and I don't like it one bit. Goth-metal with industrial and techno elements... Um, no. Pass. Go do your makeup boys. This shit is whack. I mean, they all dress like bitches and Jay Gordon sounds like one. The drumming is the same the whole CD, and the guitars are lackluster. Oh well. Try again with a new drummer and no makeup. Next please.