“Why do you play so fast…to be cool?” -George Washington<\/p>\n
(Music lessons with Bob Genghis Khan)<\/p>\n
There are a lot of criteria by which I judge new releases. In fact, I think it’s fair to say that I’m a picky bastard. On the one hand, I can appreciate the struggle bands go through to find their sound. I stand before you now, humbled by my own back catalog, and wishing no one had the misfortune of seeing my band play prior to the 10-year mark of our career. On the other hand, I get really frustrated by all the generic garbage that lands in my inbox. The long, overblown explanations about why a particular band is about to blow my mind drive me a little nuts. I know it’s all just PR stuff. I know they can’t just put, “Music sucks, don’t waste your time.” Somebody, somewhere will enjoy it, and as I enter middle age I am keenly aware that it’s impolite to yuck someone else’s yum. I do my best to keep my mouth shut.<\/p>\n
In truth, I have the attention span of a gnat, but I can’t keep holding that against every album I come across. As near as I can tell, the problem occurs because I’m too familiar with the subject matter. It’s like hate-watching a once-beloved television show. I keep going out of some sense of obligation, but the writers ran out of ideas after season 6, and now that we’re on season 23. I can’t do anything but criticize anything and everything. I have to ask myself, “Is this music actually bad, or is it exactly as it was before and I’m only now realizing how derivative metal music can be?” Could it be that all those non-metal heads were right when they said it all sounds the same? Am I just chasing the proverbial dragon in my quest for new music?! Nah, fuck that. Most of y’all are just doing it wrong. The Donner Party<\/strong> is here to show you what it means to thrash, and their new album Cutting Class<\/em> gives me hope for a better tomorrow.<\/p>\n