Heyo. How are you?
Looks like I went a little off the deep end with yesterday's post, huh? I guess its understandable - it was my first time home in a while and I had a fantastic time. It was only natural that some of the mental dirt got tilled, exposing some roots to the air. I hope you enjoyed it - I certainly did. While I do, indeed, get some solid satisfaction out of CKY's iconic single '96 Quite Bitter Beings' I barely touched on the album of theirs that really hooked me in as a listener.
As I wrote yesterday, it was fall when I got turned on to the album. I had been in college only a few months and was quickly acclimating to the horrors of dorm life. Not all was grim, though, as it was still in the heady, carefree days of file sharing, but before the advent of massive lawsuits and torrents. In other words, for better or worse, I was exposed to a great deal of music in a short amount of time. I've since reformed my wicked ways - if I can pay an artist, I will. A lot of artists these days put the music out there for free, however, in an attempt to draw people in for shows. So I cast my net far and wide. Much of it was just obtaining files I had wanted but couldn't shell out for until then, like back catalogues and out of print stuff. Others were more about the rare and obscure tracks I had heard of but never thought I could track down. Surprisingly little came recommended, that I recall, despite the massive amounts of data. I was kind of on my own as far as what I was looking for.
That changed with Sam.
Sam and I clicked almost instantly. He lived across the hall. Once he realized I could be trusted (a surprisingly rare trait in that environment, we found) after watching his stuff while moving in, we started giving the 'What's up' nod all dudes do. I don't recall exactly what it was that started the avalanche, but as soon as he and I both realized we shared an adoration for Jackass and the CKY videos, we started making emphatic recommendations and swapping files. Romantic, right? Anyway, I got him into all kinds of stuff like Thrice while he turned me on to H.I.M. (relevant post pending). One day after class (or maybe during, as not every massive lecture required strict attendance) he called over to tell me to accept the transfer he was sending, as it was higher bit rate than the normal junky mp3s we were normally swapping. What he sent me was CKY's fresh album, Infiltrate, Destroy, Rebuild. It was awesome.
I'd loved the band's earlier stuff but the mixes and ripped files always sounded terrible. This was huge and heavy, a thunderous, heaving album that saw the band suddenly came to life in my headphones. Even the sounds of the guitars themselves were unique, Deron Miller achieving some odd yet unmistakable tones that made the band stand out among the generic stuff on the radio. The off kilter rhythms gave them an ear-catching sound, as well. The album was unlike anything else I was listening to at the time, and although there have been similar sounds to develop as of late, nothing's been quite as good as IDR.
While not every song on the album has been released as a single, there is a video for every track, which is due to the devotion of drummer Jess' brother Bam. The lurching 'Escape From Hellview' is a stomping opener that continues the tale that started in '96 Quite Bitter Beings' about the torturous town of Hview. 'Flesh Into Gear', one of the band's most recognized tracks from CKY2K, is given new life and a better mix here, the riff feeling just as hypnotic and amazing as ever. The juggernaut 'Sink Into The Underground' is simultaneously a bizarre shuffle and as heavy as its title suggests. I love the pseudo-new wave elements of 'Plastic Plan', which make the track somehow poppy and strangely melodic despite the grinding nature to it. One of the best tracks on the album is the funky, maniacal 'Inhuman Creation Station', with its insane riff and lock-step rhythm.
As I wrote in yesterday's piece, I had the good fortune of seeing this band live, right after they had released this album. It was one thing to hear this when it was brand new, it was a whole separate beast to hear them rocking out at full volume, careening around the stage while looking like degenerate lumberjacks. It was insane stuff. CKY is unlike any band out there - this album cemented their identity.
Looks like I went a little off the deep end with yesterday's post, huh? I guess its understandable - it was my first time home in a while and I had a fantastic time. It was only natural that some of the mental dirt got tilled, exposing some roots to the air. I hope you enjoyed it - I certainly did. While I do, indeed, get some solid satisfaction out of CKY's iconic single '96 Quite Bitter Beings' I barely touched on the album of theirs that really hooked me in as a listener.
As I wrote yesterday, it was fall when I got turned on to the album. I had been in college only a few months and was quickly acclimating to the horrors of dorm life. Not all was grim, though, as it was still in the heady, carefree days of file sharing, but before the advent of massive lawsuits and torrents. In other words, for better or worse, I was exposed to a great deal of music in a short amount of time. I've since reformed my wicked ways - if I can pay an artist, I will. A lot of artists these days put the music out there for free, however, in an attempt to draw people in for shows. So I cast my net far and wide. Much of it was just obtaining files I had wanted but couldn't shell out for until then, like back catalogues and out of print stuff. Others were more about the rare and obscure tracks I had heard of but never thought I could track down. Surprisingly little came recommended, that I recall, despite the massive amounts of data. I was kind of on my own as far as what I was looking for.
That changed with Sam.
Sam and I clicked almost instantly. He lived across the hall. Once he realized I could be trusted (a surprisingly rare trait in that environment, we found) after watching his stuff while moving in, we started giving the 'What's up' nod all dudes do. I don't recall exactly what it was that started the avalanche, but as soon as he and I both realized we shared an adoration for Jackass and the CKY videos, we started making emphatic recommendations and swapping files. Romantic, right? Anyway, I got him into all kinds of stuff like Thrice while he turned me on to H.I.M. (relevant post pending). One day after class (or maybe during, as not every massive lecture required strict attendance) he called over to tell me to accept the transfer he was sending, as it was higher bit rate than the normal junky mp3s we were normally swapping. What he sent me was CKY's fresh album, Infiltrate, Destroy, Rebuild. It was awesome.
