The Best One Since Conchita Wurst...
For many, childhood and growing up brings the sweetest of memories; playing with friends in the park, bike rides, a game of football...for this idiot however, oh fuck no...I was going down hills in trolleys (shopping karts if you aren't British)...diving through glass windows, playing with staple guns, jumping off balconies...yes I'm not ashamed to say that I was a Jackass kid, part of a generation fueled by dares and stupidity...Bam Margera will forever be my hero and as it happens, his brothers band, CKY (his brother Jess is the drummer) was part of a soundtrack to that generation. Forever associated with the cult that was Jackass, they were a major part in our up-bringing, supplying the songs to our self harm...and while it was understandable with the ties they had, it sort of held them back...over the course of their career, CKY released some of THE greatest rock albums ever crafted, but they were beyond under-appreciated...and then a few years ago, well, things went tits up. Vocalist Deron fell out with the band and things have been less than civil ever since...BUT...CKY stands for Camp Kill Yourself and they'll be damned if they don't go out on their own terms...after a several year hiatus and sans Deron, the remaining members return with the new album "The Phoenix"...will they rise again or will they shrivel like a ruined balloon?
The album opens up with "Replaceable" and already we're greeted with a message...a fuck you...it's a statement from a band not afraid to cut ties...the slowly built riff into some brilliantly catchy southern driven alt. rock is the perfect opening; it's like the band have crafted this intro to sound like they are finding their feet again, getting to grips with CKY again after so many years but there are certainly no signs of rust...the guitar work harks right back to the "An Answer Can Be Found" era...the moogs are back, the groove is there and in terms of riffs CKY always pull it out of the bag...for a band hitting the refresh button this is a great start. First single "Days Of Self Destruction" follows up and we're hit with some classic CKY riff-driven hard rock, Jess Margera ever improvisational on the drums completing a free-flowing sound...even MASTODON guitarist Brent Hinds lends his hand to this one (which speaks volumes) but to honest it does become a fret wank-off and detracts from the song a little too much...
"Unknown Enemy" goes full gimmick and utilizes an almost spooky guitar tone appropriate to it's theme, in ways I guess continuing in tradition of Deron's love of horror movies but in this instance tongue-in-cheek, acting as more of a parody than a tribute, before first album highlight "Head For A Breakdown" hypnotizes you completely. A slow burning track with simple hooks but rich in infectious melody...it's incredibly catchy and harbors a solo that's properly structured, this is much better, in fact this is fucking awesome! The acoustic and string elements only add to the depth of this track and the result is something truly beautiful. The albums closing track "Better Than Get Even" further adds to this with some properly catchy hard-rock, the level of groove CKY provide can be unreal and this further proves why they are one of rocks hidden gems, despite their veteran status.
Over the short-course of this eight-track album though sadly it can't be perfect...tracks like "Wiping Off The Dead" and "The Other Ones" can't help but sound like they are stuck in second gear and while they are fantastic guitar driven pieces of music, this is a guitar players album without a shadow of a doubt, there's something lacking here and sadly what that is...is Deron Miller....for all the band have been through and not wanting to sound like a bitter fan boy, you can't deny that while musically CKY are superb, there was a distinction to Deron's vocals that Chad simply can't, not so much emulate but, fill in for here...Chad is great, hell I'd piss on GG ALLIN's grave with him, he fucked up in 93! But it's just not quite the same...After so long, by damn it's beautiful to have CKY back but, I just wish they would patch up their differences...the 96 quite bitter beings are a man short...[7]
The album opens up with "Replaceable" and already we're greeted with a message...a fuck you...it's a statement from a band not afraid to cut ties...the slowly built riff into some brilliantly catchy southern driven alt. rock is the perfect opening; it's like the band have crafted this intro to sound like they are finding their feet again, getting to grips with CKY again after so many years but there are certainly no signs of rust...the guitar work harks right back to the "An Answer Can Be Found" era...the moogs are back, the groove is there and in terms of riffs CKY always pull it out of the bag...for a band hitting the refresh button this is a great start. First single "Days Of Self Destruction" follows up and we're hit with some classic CKY riff-driven hard rock, Jess Margera ever improvisational on the drums completing a free-flowing sound...even MASTODON guitarist Brent Hinds lends his hand to this one (which speaks volumes) but to honest it does become a fret wank-off and detracts from the song a little too much...
"Unknown Enemy" goes full gimmick and utilizes an almost spooky guitar tone appropriate to it's theme, in ways I guess continuing in tradition of Deron's love of horror movies but in this instance tongue-in-cheek, acting as more of a parody than a tribute, before first album highlight "Head For A Breakdown" hypnotizes you completely. A slow burning track with simple hooks but rich in infectious melody...it's incredibly catchy and harbors a solo that's properly structured, this is much better, in fact this is fucking awesome! The acoustic and string elements only add to the depth of this track and the result is something truly beautiful. The albums closing track "Better Than Get Even" further adds to this with some properly catchy hard-rock, the level of groove CKY provide can be unreal and this further proves why they are one of rocks hidden gems, despite their veteran status.
Over the short-course of this eight-track album though sadly it can't be perfect...tracks like "Wiping Off The Dead" and "The Other Ones" can't help but sound like they are stuck in second gear and while they are fantastic guitar driven pieces of music, this is a guitar players album without a shadow of a doubt, there's something lacking here and sadly what that is...is Deron Miller....for all the band have been through and not wanting to sound like a bitter fan boy, you can't deny that while musically CKY are superb, there was a distinction to Deron's vocals that Chad simply can't, not so much emulate but, fill in for here...Chad is great, hell I'd piss on GG ALLIN's grave with him, he fucked up in 93! But it's just not quite the same...After so long, by damn it's beautiful to have CKY back but, I just wish they would patch up their differences...the 96 quite bitter beings are a man short...[7]
RSS Feed