Search - Bronx :: Bronx (Dig)

Solid Sophomore Effort

Kevin Blake | Surrey, England | 09/22/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Boy oh boy. Some reviews are helpful and others are downright misleading. To think I was almost put off Tool's "10,000 Days" by some luke warm reviews here. Of course, it's another masterpiece from that incredible band. Ditto The Bronx's second full-length album.



Reading some of the reviews below, you'd think this album is a radical departure from the first one, which is a stone cold classic. Relax, Bronx fans -- it isn't anywhere near the change of direction some would have you believe and in fact treads very much the same musical ground for the most part. I held back on picking this up based on these errant opinions until I caught the video for "History's Stranglers" on Kerrang! TV here in the UK, and I immediately knew The Bronx were back and ordered this sucker the next day. It doesn't disappoint.



Sure, it isn't as good as the first one -- but only because that album set an impossibly high standard. It's always the same trying to follow up a classic first album -- how can the next one come close? Think Van Halen and G'n'R among countless others. Even Black Flag, the band The Bronx most closely resemble, couldn't follow up the epic "Damaged" with anything nearly as good.



And sure, there are 3 songs on this album which are departures from the band's established sound, namely "Dirty Leaves," "Safe Passage," and "White Guilt." The first 2 don't really work for me but I don't begrudge the band for trying to mix things up a bit. The last one has an almost southern rock feel with some Stonesy licks courtesy of the guesting Gilby Clarke and I love it -- great, catchy rock'n'roll.



As for the rest, for those who think The Bronx are going soft, "Small Stone" is the thrashiest thing they've ever done. And "Sh**ty Future," "History's Stranglers," "Oceans of Class," and "Transsexual Blackout (The Movement)" rock as hard as anything the band has done, even if a few of these songs take the pedal slightly off the metal of the relentlessly breakneck pace of the first album. "Mouth Money," "Rare Zombie," and "Three Dead Sisters" are no less interesting. "Around the Horn" goes for a different guitar tone for a change -- nothing wrong with that.



All in all, this is a very good album and Bronx fans needn't fear the scaremongering "sell out" charges thrown around by some of evidently questionable judgment."

Different

Dylan Burton | Denver, CO | 07/19/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I love and listen to The Bronx ferret music release, and two EP's constantly. If you're new with The Bronx, and this is your fist time with 'em, you might like the sound. If this is another Bronx album added to your collection, you might be dissapointed. I do feel that some of the intensity was left behind, but there is still some good quality Rock 'n' Roll here. You can't just keep repeating the same sound and style over and over. You got to move on and try to evolve. All in all, this wasn't a huge step in a different and disastrous direction...it's still great Rock 'n' Roll to me."

This is great... no discussion!

processed01 | 10/02/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is just pure rock & roll, the way it was meant to be! It's pissed off, loud, crazy music to rock out to that actually manages to come across as clever. Seriously, if you can't listen to this album and tell how well written it is, just go back to your Hawthorne Heights CDs and leave the real music to the big kids. Unlike their previous album and eps, this release finds The Bronx experimenting ever so slightly with different rythms and moods. Where as the band's other material is stuck in fifth gear most of the time (not necessarily a bad thing), their newer songs manage to down-shift to fourth gear every once in while. If that's selling out, then give me a thousand sell-out bands like this. Listening to this album really makes you realize how watered down most rock and roll has become in recent years. That's pretty intense considering the number of people who think this is a watered down effort from The Bronx! This band deserves your attention, so do yourself a favor and buy this album today!



Oh and for those who can't get enough of The Bronx, you should pick up the Vinyl and I-Tunes editions of the album, because they both feature two bonus tracks (Rockers NYC and Venice)!"