MADBALL
Hold It Down (Epitaph)
Reviewed by DJ Johnson

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For years and years it was easy to identify an Epitaph Records release. In fact, it almost sounded like they had a house drummer. More accurately, a house jack-hammer. With the signings of Tom Waits, Wayne Kramer and now Merle Haggard, it's not so easy anymore. Madball is back in the power groove, but not with that expected sound. It's more of a dark, pissed-off snarl, complete with chunky power chords and all the grit of a sandpit. The drums, assaulted ruthlessly by Darren Morgenthaller, pop rather than snap (springs down off the snare, for those who get the meaning of that). As it says on the inside sleeve, this is how hardcore is done in NYC.

Epitomizing the Madball sound, "Done..." jerks the listener back and forth in a tempo tug-o-war that will thrill some and annoy the rest. Me? Hey, us Sabbath freaks can hang with as many tempo changes as anyone wants to throw at us, and Madball throws 'em often.

If you can handle an avalanche of negativity, you'll eventually get to enjoy the lighter moments, like the mock mic banter as Freddie Cricien spouts anti-success rhetoric that jabs a playful finger into the ribs of plenty of hardcore posers. Course, Madball is no new thing -- they've got a handful of CDs and singles available -- but as a first-time listener I have to admit this stuff stuck in my head to the point where I'm probably going to have to pick up their earlier releases now. I don't know where the name comes from, but if a Madball is a pitch, I'll bet it's a nasty one.

© 2000 - DJ Johnson