Raunchy
Velvet Noise
Nuclear Blast 2003
kkk

Expecting something horri-
ble like Puddle of Mudd, | lis-
tened to this CD with some

hesitation. Instead of utter
filth, | heard Denmark’s
answer to mainstream metal,
such as it is. Not black metal,
not death metal, and not
power metal, Raunchy are half
industrial, half speed metal,
and half nu metal... and all
good. While they could have
easily signed to such major
labels as Sony or Universal,
they choose to sign with the
well respected metal label
Nuclear Blast.

While Raunchy’s name
doesn’t inspire metal, their
sound and execution do.
Rauchy sound like a combina-
tion of the late and great Fear
Factory (pre-Digimortal, thank
goodness) and Strapping
Young Lad, and completed
with a little bit of 80s style
thrash thrown in for good mea-
sure.

What do you get from this
mix? Something that’s not
really original sounding, but
refreshing just the same.
Raunchy’s sound is very tight,
and their debut album, Velvet
Noise, shows their skill as
musicians, particularly the
vocalist Lars Vognstrup, who
executes the operatic (yet
good...) to aggressive vocal
changes with perfection.

While it’s clear that Raunchy
need to digest their influences
more, (they come frightfully
close to sounding just like
Fear Factory more than once
during Velvet Noise) | think
Raunchy are destined for
great things. Put simply, | think
the kids are going to love this

North American, so commer-
cial success could be in their
futures.

Overall, Raunchy are fun to
listen to, sometimes unorigi-
nal, but always entertaining,
and definitely worth checking
out if you’re a fan of Fear
Factory.

-Kathleen

BOYSETSFIRE

nS, |

we

LIVE FOR TODAY

Boy Sets Fire
Live for Today
Sony 2002
kkk

Boy Sets Fire seems to be a
hardcore influenced band,
only with more control, com-
position, and melody. Their
musical performance is sound
and the production, as well as
mixing, is quite professional.
This group carries with it a
socially conscious and secular
message. They seem to have
a positive message of self-
empowerment to the people,
and there is a slight hint of reli-
gion being another tool to con-
trol the poor and underprivi-
leged, a tool installed by the
elite.

| do not especially agree
with all of what they say, but at
least it is refreshing to hear
some thought put into a
groups content. Of course, as
much as they dislike the pow-
erful elite, the powerful elite
are who signed their band.
Perhaps this contaminates
their message, but they are
also quite interested in rocking
out in front of people, and a
major label distributor may be
the best way for them to do it.

If your interested in listening
to energetic protest music,
that can still maintain some
degree of control and melody,
then check these guys out.
You even get a chance to hear

1
fe

band, and their sound is very

their live work as there is three
live tracks complimenting the
three studio tracks.

-Destrudo

Riot Act

Pearl Jam
Sony Music 2002
kkk .

Ah yes, Pearl Jam. After a
few disappointments and a
shit-load of live albums, they
have finally produced a disc
that’s worth buying. Although
Riot Act doesn’t compare to
Ten or Yield, it’s the best effort
seen from Pearl Jam in a long
time. After all, shouldn’t a CD
that’s dedicated to John
Entwistle (The Who), Dee Dee
Ramone (The Ramones) and
Ray Brown be a decent listen?

After countless cover songs,
and growly, almost inaudible
vocals, Vedder has finally
gone back to that music that
made Pearl Jam what they are
today. The first radio release,
"| Am Mine" is a strong repre-
sentation of what you will find
on the CD, and "Can't Keep" is
a powertul effort.

Overall, | am very happy
with the sound and the con-
tent. You think they’ll tour

Northern BC?
-Erin

The Devlins
Consent
Nettwerk 2002
kkk

It’s been almost two years

since the Devlins’ last album,
“Waiting.” What took them so
long? They toured for a year
and a half before deciding to
put together another album.
Then they moved to an old
country house in Kinsdale,
Country Cork, and built their
own recording studio there.
Then they put together an
album of reflective, self-
assured music, which pushes
their musical boundaries with-
out losing their fundamental
strengths and style.

Having never heard the
Devlins before (I say that
about a lot of bands, now that
| think about it), | had no idea
what to expect. Right from the
get-go | was impressed with
the overall sound of the
Devlins’...err...sound. | am
somewhat lacking in sym-
phonic acoustic albums (espe-
cially slow ones), since often
enough they turn into repeti-
tion-fests, whereupon the
artist sings something and hits
the “repeat” button until they
have filled an entire CD.
“Consent” solves this problem
by...wait for it..NOT BEING
REPETITIVE. Final word: me
am like album. Wee!

-Josh

Hello Lisa
Lisa Loeb
Artemis Records 2002

Ke

‘Hello Lisa,’ Loeb’s second
release this year, is basically
one big advertisement for
Sanrio Company's ‘Hello Kitty’
Hello Kitty is on the cover, in
the liner notes, on the
CD...you get the picture.

The CD is basically a re-
release of early 2002's ‘Cake
and Pie. Now, ‘Cake and Pie’
is a beautifully crafted album.
Why ruin it by eliminating

The Edge Page 8

adding three new songs, and
covering it with Hello Kitty?
‘Hello Lisa’ is a strong album,
but it does not showcase the
diversity of ‘Cake and Pie’ The
two songs that really marked
the musical boundaries for
Loeb in ‘Cake and Pie, “We
Could Still Belong Together”
and “She’s Falling Apart,” were
left off ‘Hello Kitty’ The new
songs, “Did That;’ “What Am |
Supposed to Say,’ and “Take
Me Back,” are good, but the
album overall lacks the range |
was expecting.

If you already own ‘Cake and
Pie, you might want to consid-
er purchasing the single for
‘Underdog, which contains the
three new songs, instead of
‘Hello Lisa’

-Steph

Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Original Soundtrack-
Volume 5: Wildstyle Pirate
Radio

Sony 2002

kke

Grand Theft Auto has long
been known for its wild, car-
stealing antics, and funky
soundtracks. Grand Theft
Auto: Vice City is no exception
to the rule, and with seven
sound tracks that range from
hair metal to 80s pop, there is
something for everyone.
Volume 5: Wildstyle Pirate
Radio is a compilation of
tracks that you would hear on
the Wildstyle Pirate radio sta-
tion in the game.

This album is absolutely
hilarious. Chock full of old-
school 80’s hip hop, rap, and
electronic music, this CD will
take listeners back to the day
when hip hop was so under-
ground that it was not often
played on the radio. Artists like