Cd Reviews

Godsmack - Godsmack
Track Listing:
1.) Moon Baby (4:23)
2.) Whatever (3:24)
3.) Keep Away (4:49)
4.) Time Bomb (3:57)
5.) Bad Religion (3:38)
6.) Imuune (4:52)
7.) Someone in London (2:02)
8.) Get Up, Get Out! (3:27)
9.) Now or Never (5:03)
10.) Stress (5:02)
11.) Situation (5:44)
12.) Voodoo (4:39)

��� Boston's Godsmack practices the sort of post-industrial metal made popular by White Zombie and perpetuated by Tool and Alice In Chains. But by mixing the raw riffing of their peers with the machine-gun rhythms of Nine Inch Nails, they distinguish themselves from the pack. On their self-titled major label debut, they demonstrate the commitment to furthering the evolution of metal that won them a loyal fan base in New England. Singer Sully screams his way through a dozen tunes chock full of chunky guitars and moshing rhythms. In keeping with the tone of modern metal, he sings about his own demons and failings rather than vaguely defined ills of society. While no threat to Dave Mustaine or Cliff Burton, guitarist Tony and bassist Robbie have a commanding presence that emphasizes attitude and power over technique. And drummer Tommy has picked up where Lars Ulrich left off with quirky fills that add a depth to the sometimes two-dimensional rhythms.


Ice Cube - War & Peace
Track Listing:
1.) Ask About Me - Ice Cube (3:06)
2.) Pushin' Weight (4:35)
3.) Dr. Frankenstein - Ice Cube (4:53)
4.) Fuck Dying - Ice Cube/Korn (4:04)
5.) War & Peace (3:18)
6.) Ghetto Vet (4:53)
7.) Greed (4:37)
8.) Cash Over (3:27)
9.) The Curse Of Money (5:03)
10.) The Pecking Order (2:33)
11.) Limos, Demos, and Bimbos (4:12)
12.) Time in the Projects 2 (4:39)
13.) X-****** (5:02)
14.) Extradition (4:40)
15.) 3 Strikes You In (4:28)
16.) Peniterntary (4:10)

��� Cube's first solo album in four years, War and Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc) is a double campaign. Similar to Death Certificate's "Death Side" and "Life Side," War and Peace Vol. 1 (The War Disc)'s alter ego, The Peace Disc, will be released in 1999. The album's war theme is coherently constructed, and the production is strategically calculated, peaking with the intricately arranged, sublimely symphonic "**** Dying," featuring the gorgeously harsh guitars of Korn. The hard rock melodies oddly complement Cube, further evidenced on "Peckin' Order," a rumbling, guitar-buttressed track. Cube is at his best on the pursuing "Ask About Me" and the aching "Cash Over ***" in which Cube gloats, "Watch your daughter/She might catch the holy ghost from this rap sermon." In "x ******," Cube throws a middle finger to all the girls he's loved before, and oozes with bad boy charm. The album reaches an unforgettable climax on the cinematic "Ghetto Vet." With keen pathos, Cube warns ego-trippin' gangstas of the folly of invincibility over an eerie piano loop reminiscent of a horror flick score: "Fool, I'm a vet you can bet/That I can dance underwater and not get wet/It's raining bullets and I'm steeled in."


N i N - Broken
Track Listing:
1.) Pinion (4:23)
2.) Wish (3:24)
3.) Last (4:49)
4.) Help Me I Am In Hell (3:57)
5.) Happiness In Slavery (3:38)
6.) Gave Up (4:52)

� Sounds like Trent Reznor has been taking his bitter pills lately. Granted, Pretty Hate Machine was hardly an exercise in benevolence, but the record's harsh electronics were nowhere near as scathingly ravaged as the new Broken EP. The disc contains six songs, but only four are really substantial (the others are mere interludes), yet they all burn with such electra-metallic menace that the 20 or so minutes of sonic agony they provide is more than enough. The EP features Reznor's trademark keyboard blips butchered and buried within a barrage of razor-edged guitars and aggressive drumbeats. The explosive nature of Broken is a direct reflection of Reznor's volatile emotional state, and what better way to represent hostility and paranoia than with distorted guitars and jackhammer percussion. Having grown increasingly disenchanted with relationships, and flat out furious with the corporate music industry, Reznor has used his music to lash out at all the ex-girlfriends, journalists, publicists, groupies and money-grubbing executives he feels have tainted his life. He recorded the EP at several different studios without his record company's knowledge in order to prevent nosey label employees from interfering. The result is an astonishingly cold, brutal and bleak EP. Experience the ecstasy of agony with "Happiness Is Slavery," "Wish" and "Gave Up."


TOOL - Opiate
Track Listing:
1.) Sweat (3:47)
2.) Hush (2:48)
3.) Part Of Me (3:17)
4.) Cold And Ugly (Live) (4:10)
5.) Jerk-off (Live) (4:10)
6.) Opiate (5:22)

��� Snapped up less than six months after they formed, this LA. quartet could well be the city's lost child. Driven by Maynard James Keenan full-on confrontational vocals, the band pursues a Jane's/Soundgarden-ish bent with an impressive load of power and originality, and this EP is a vast improvement over the demo tape that was circulated a couple of months back. The band walks a fine line between alternative and metal, mixing an occasional mystical bent with driving rhythms and the occasional Voivodish progressive turn that will twist the adventurous mindset. All in all, a fine introduction that could easily turn into something huge. Check out "Sweat," "Hush," "Cold And Ugly", and don't forget the unlisted seventh track, "Gaping Lotus."


The Lox - Money, Power, Respect
Track Listing:
1.) Yonkers Tale (Intro)
2.) Livin' The Life
3.) If You Think I'm Jiggy
4.) The Interview (Part I)
5.) Money, Power & Respect
6.) Get This $
7.) Let's Start Rap Over
8.) Mad Rapper (Interlude)
9.) I Wanna Thank You
10.) Goin' Be Some Shit
11.) The Heist (Part 1)
12.) Not To Be Fucked With
13.) The Set-Up (Interlude)
14.) Bitches From Eastwick
15.) Can't Stop, Won't Stop
16.) All For The Love
17.) So Right
18.) The Snitch (Interlude)
19.) Everybody Wanna A Rat
20.) The Interview (Part II)
21.) We'll Always Love Big Poppa

� Puff Daddy hits hard with the latest group in his Bad Boy arsenal, The Lox. After appearing on the Notorious B.I.G. tribute single, We'll Always Love Big Poppa (included on the disc) and on the Puff Daddy & The Family debut, No Way Out, The Lox break out on their own with the semi-autobiographical, Money, Power & Respect. Check out the raw and rugged "Money, Power & Respect" featuring Li'l Kim and BMX; the R&B laced, "Let's Start Rap Over" (with smooth vocals from Kelly Price and Carl Thomas); the vivid drama of "The Heist (Part 1)" which soars with beautiful string arrangements and the powerful, "Not To Be F**cked With". On their debut, The Lox paint a portrait of city livin' from the streets of Yonkers, New York that's a struggle for money, power, respect, love, peace of mind and survival. The main focus of Money, Power & Respect is keepin' it real through the strength of the rhymes and the power of the truthful narratives. Thanks to sharp production and insightful lyrics, The Lox' debut is a fresh and diverse set that escapes many of the pitfalls that plague most hip hop albums because it dares to be deep and succeeds, without losing its street edge.