Get Liquified...

Late 2000, Roadrunner Records was sitting on a cash cow with Slipknot, so they quickly jumped on the bandwagon by signing any band which could be pigeonholed into the reigning nü metal/rapcore fad. Helloooooo Phoenix, AZ locals Disclocated Styles. Having just released an uneven, self-produced LP entitled Elevator Music (rather rap-heavy in a Quarishi type of way), the boys jumped onto the majors and recorded Pin The Tail On The Honkey within six weeks, rehashing a half-dozen tunes from their debut along with some new material. So what's the vedict? Well... let's just say I was expecting something a tad more... uh... heavy. It's not that Honkey is bad at all, it's just that I guess I had Slipknot or Sepultura on the brain when I bought it. Looking back at the album title now the goofiness doesn't surprise me in the least, but back then I wasn't so miserably jaded about every band I've never heard of. Anyways, in a nutshell, Dislocated Styles pretty much sounds like a more sophomoric Phunk Junkeez or Zebrahead; doing research for this post I discovered that Honkey's producer cut a few albums with Zebrahead so there ya go! It's all pretty upbeat and listenable - the music really isn't  the problem, it's the song subject matter. It is just... so... how do I say this... fucking retarded! I'm sure it was all conceived in fun but some of the songs seem like they were written by (and for) fucking 10-year olds. "Online Virus"? I mean really? And "Liquified" sounds like the kind of shit pre-alcoholic highschoolers would brag to each other after a weekend kegger. And of course there's the token porno-worship song "Wet Video". It goes on and on. Fun? Yeah, but be warned, this is some stupid ass shit.

Show Me Love

 
Currently watching: I Spit On Your Corpse, I Piss On Your Grave!

Currently listening to: Sev Sunflower

Take A Chance Kid

I thought I'd drop a sequel to my last post showcasing another band that was a tad "too little too late" for the saturated U.S. pop punk scene yet became a huge hit across the Pacific. Zebrahead hailed from Orange County, CA and made a bit of a stir with their nü-metally/punkish Waste Of Mind in 1998 (which I still think is their best album). Thanks to the explosive pop punk oversaturation led by Blink-182 in the coming years, however, Zebrahead all but faded into obscurity on this side of the pond (I'm sure it also didn't help their albums were way down in the forgotten "XYZ" section at most record stores, but that's just me). Yet, like previous post Insolence, Japan thought these fuckers were huge. They remain huge in the land of the rising sun - records consistently go gold and their tours are massive. Which is why I decided to post the audio to 2003's concert DVD release The Show Must Go Off! Recorded at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, CA, the band amply tears through a respectable sampling of their releases, my only question is: "why record the show in California?" Why not somewhere in Japan where you have a way more solid fan base? It gets tiring hearing vocalist Justin Mauriello's constant attempt to pump up the crowd; he actually gets booed ad-libbing the "Fuck Fuck Fuck" tune from Jay And Silent Bob Strike Back. I woulda told the crowd to fuck off, taken their parents' cash and headed back to my mansion in in Kyoto. I'm sure it was a homecoming event to them and all that but go where the bread and butter is my friends and fuck the locals. Regardless, I think it's a great 80 minutes, enjoy.

Jag Off

Currently watching: The Lost Continent
Currently listening to: Beastie Boys Hot Sauce Committee Part 2