This is a compilation CD of way-underground/local bands from the early-2000s rock scene in Laramie, Wyoming. Back in high school I had a proclivity for randomly sending out letters to DIY labels that were reviewed in zines I liked, especially Slug and Lettuce. I'm guessing that's how I obtained this CD, through a random mailing almost a decade ago, because there is no contact information whatsoever on this CD. No email, no street address, no record label info, nothing but band names and song titles and some horribly pixelated printout pictures of what appears to be high schoolers sitting around a dinner table. I've been going through my old CDs and thought I'd give this a listen because I probably only listened to it that first day I got in the mail; I seemed to remember not really liking it, but that was a long time ago. My tastes have changed and expanded since then; maybe this time around I'd enjoy it more.
Those initial feelings were entirely correct. This CD sucks. All 8 bands have their members listed and it looks as though there's alot of crossover in between groups; they all play pretty similar metallic rock thats trying to be too instrumental without doing anything interesting whatsoever. I'm at a loss as to which bands to actually compare them to because they are so deep in the morass of mediocrity that the only bands I can think of are other go-nowhere local-status metallic-rock bands I've heard over the years. There's a definite Rage Against The Machine/Tool vibe going on in the guitars, and I mean that in the worst possible "Guerrilla Radio" type way possible. I can't tell if these guys are high school kids who have never heard anything remotely underground or if these are washed up thirtysomethings who have never heard anything remotely underground.
The band that's most represented here is called "Aggressive Behavior" and they have 3 songs of somewhat alright basic proto-core kinda in the vein of Defiant Trespass and other shitty hardcore punk bands from the early 2000s. They have a song called "Live Fast Skate Fast Die Fast" thats has funny barked vocals and is pretty okay. The other bands who have multiple songs are called "Mr. V", an instrumental band who sounds like "Lateralus"-era Tool without any vocals or direction with their riffs but arent as terrible as some of the others on here, and a band called "Gunk" who are like Mr. V but with a Darby Crash-style vocalist and shittier.
The best songs here are by a group called "Viking Chef March", who contribute an instrumental track somewhere in between "Artist in the Ambulance"-era Thrice and early Mars Volta, without coming anywhere near the dopeness of those groups; and the very last proper song on the CD (the ending is an unlisted video game type keyboard song) by a group called "Redbush." Their song is kinda like the heavier end of Soundgarden mixed with "Heart-Shaped Box" by Nirvana with almost Converge type screechy scream vocals. It's not GREAT but its way doper than any of the other songs on this CD.
Overall, this CD is DIY as fuck but it kinda sucks and isn't a great time to listen to. It's gratingly generic and embarassingly amateurish at the same time. I'm not quite certain how I got this CD but I hope I didnt pay for it.
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