DIECAST
Day of Reckoning (Now Or Never Recs)
Reviewed by Jason Thornberry

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My initial impression was (obviously) the graphic design, which looked pretty dismal and pre-adolescent. That's never a good omen; then again there are plenty of albums I can think of that had less-than-great artwork but grew on me like hyperactive vines when I listened to them: ("Monster Movie" by Can, "3 Feet High and Rising" by De La Soul, and "Funcrusher Plus" by Company Flow to name a few).

How about this one? Sonically it wasn't too removed from Far Beyond Driven-period Pantera, and the overall production pays a similar attention to the envisioned immensity of the instruments therein. The vocal attack was a bit redolent of late 80's Chaka Khan though. I'm joking. Actually the singer, one Colin Schliefer, sounds like one Phil Anselmo (Pantera again), who in turn sounds like an inferior Xerox of a young Henry Rollins. So, in essence the vocals sound like a copy of a copy of what I'd consider a good aggressive front-man being livid and sweaty near a microphone. The Darth-Vader-with-emphysema voice-overs on "In The Shadows" got on my tits too. Pound for pound this nibbled a little too anxiously for me to recommend it to anyone who lived through the last eighteen years of rock and roll.

GRADE: D.

© 2002 - Jason Thornberry