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Non-Prog CD Reviews

Psychocide Alcohol & Bad Decisions Review by Gary Hill It's definitely hard to land a label on these guys. As close as you can come is "hard rock." The sound here runs the gamut from metal to punk to just plain hard edged rock. It's all effective and entertaining. This is just such a great disc from start to finish. I can't imagine many people for whom this wouldn't work. This review is available in book format (hardcover and paperback) in Music Street Journal: 2018 Volume 1 at garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2018.

Track by Track Review

Crazy Janet The guitar sound that opens this is so meaty. It's a hard rocking jam that's very much a raunch and roll kind of thing. The vocals are more in line with a melodic rock sound in some ways. The combination of sounds is very effective and this is such a tasty opener.

Mary A mellower cut, this has a tasty alternative rock vibe on the verses. The choruses have more crunch, meat and power. The instrumental section seems to combine the two varying sounds with a bit of a punk edge. It has a killer guitar solo. This is another great tune.

Crossing Guard Bass opens this with a very punky energy. The cut fires out from there into some smoking hot hard rocking. This is another excellent example of how these guys combine classic rock, punk and more to create a killer song that's both entertaining and unique.

Mr. Suit The first vocals are spoken. The mellower section mid-track uses keys to good effect to create a retro texture. This has parts that are more along the lines of a mean punky jam. That mellow drop back actually leans toward progressive rock. I can't make out the lyrics all that well on the fast section, but I think this might earn a parental advisory.

Dear Alice The opening to this calls to mind some kind of weird music box. The cut shifts out from there to a seriously metallic stomper. Again they drop it down toward proggy stuff in the mellower movement. After the three minute mark they start speeding things up, creating a prog rock type vibe. It drops back down from there to the song proper to take it out.

Temporary Friends This hard rocker definitely earns a parental advisory. It's meaty with a lot of punk rock along with some metallic elements at play.

Brotherman Punk, grunge and metal all seem present in the mix here. This is a meaty, fast paced stomper. It manages to be catchy, too.

Paranoia Meaty and downright mean, this stomper has some metal and some punk in the mix.

Street Named Desire Fast paced and fun, this has a real ska vibe to it. It's a big change of pace.

Breaking Bad A real metallic grind drives the opening of this stomper. It drops to a mellower section for the vocals and gradually builds out from there. This piece makes great use of the different sections, landing as one of the most dynamic things here. It's another great tune on a disc with no weak material.

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