The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current, May 02, 1988, Page 15, Image 15

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    Reviewers take Final look at fish, Heads, Smithereens
REVIEW BOARD from Page 14_
buying and further bury them, and the
label deserves contempt if that is the
reason.
The CD version marks yet another
first and in that technology. Besides
fifty-some minutes of music, the disc
is supposedly encoded with all the
album’s lyrics, instrumentation,
chords and other information. I can
not attest to this because it requires
yet another expensive machine to get
all this off.
For the time being, I’m pleased
enough with the album, so I think I’ll
pass on the new gimmicks.
—Trevor McArthur
pj p
Courtesy of Puemort Records
Final Conflict “Ashies to Ashes"
Pusmort Records
Most people feel that the mixing of
punk and heavy metal into a “cross
over” sound was ultimately to the
demise of the punk scene. The heavy
metal scene gained many new con
verts and the ranks of the punks were
thinned. The punk ethic was largely
co-opted by the crossover trend.
Despite this, some punk bands have
been influenced by the heavy metal
sound and have still retained a punk
“philosophy.”
Final Conflict is one such band.
Musically, they arc more metal than
punk, but their appearance, ideas, and
audience arc more punk than metal.
Final Conflict released a 15-song,
self-titled demo tape about two years
ago which introduced listeners to
their politically-oriented thrashmetal
sound. Their new album, “Ashes to
Ashes,” has nine songs from the demo
tape and five new songs. The record
ing quality on the album is much
better and shows the band’s progres
sion over a two-year period.
The songs are longer and less re
petitive now, with occasional dual
vocals and brief guitar solos. The
vocal style lies somewhere between
r— i.1 ■!'■»' »'•"
singing and chanting and the lyrics
are fairly complex. Unlike almost
every other hard-core band around
today, the vocalist did not write most
of the songs on this album.
Most of the songs are about politi
cal issues and are peace-oriented,
although there are two curious excep
tions (“Crucifixion” and “Abolish
Police”) which both have a latent
acceptance of violence.
War and disarmament are two
common themes on the album, being
mentioned in eight of the songs. In
“Constant Fear, the urgency of nu
clear disarmament is addressed:
"The point of disarmament can
never be stressed so desperately
How long must we wait for some
morbid leader to lose his temper?”
And again in “Selfrighteous Pigs”:
"There can be no retribution for all
the maimed and slaughtered
Except a chest full of pins and self
righteous honor”
Such gloom is juxtaposed against
visions of hope and calls to action.
Final conflict includes a 16-page
booklet with the album. The booklet
is filled with the band’s thoughts on
peace and disarmament. Construc
tive visions of hope are more apparent
in the booklet than in the song lyrics,
but both go together in a message that
seeks to keep the world from turning
itself into ashes.
— Bryan Peterson
Courtesy of Trout Mystery
Trout Mystery “Trout Mys
tery" Independently Produced
Cassette
The most immediately striking
thing about this tape, released by
Lincoln band Trout Mystery, is that
this band can obviously do a wide
variety of things. This is definitely the
most adventurous of the many local
releases of the last couple of months.
As musicians, the members of
Trout Mystery have enough talent to
adopt just about any style they
choose, while as a band, they always
manage to make the songs their own.
Guitarists Chris Albright and Dave
Sullivan approach two-guitar song
writing in a number of different ways,
ranging from the simultaneous power
chords of “Human Error,” to combi
nations of more intricate parts in
“Lick Me” and “Standing on String.”
All of this is backed up by the solid
playing of bassist Terry Pieper and
drummer John Fleischli, on tape at
least one of the tightest rhythm sec
tions among Lincoln’s alternative
bands.
But it’s the gritty, tuneless, sort of
perversely appealing vocal style of
Sullivan and especially Albright that
adds a little distinctiveness to their
songs.
The songs on th is tape may even be
a little too varied for their own good.
Side 1 finds the band, whose live
shows are known for goofy antics and
sometimes odd cover selections, pos
sibjy attempting to lean too far to the
serious side. The three songs on this
side are all pretty good, but they lack
the upbeat, screwball spark that is an
essential part of their best songs.
The four songs on S ide 2 find Trout
Mystery at its best, though, and they
end the tape perfectly with a warped
acoustic version of “Religion,” their
powerhouse live show-closer. It fea
tures crazed whoops and yells,
twisted acoustic guitar licks and lyr
ics about a girl “chock-full of Jesus.”
And, whether they like or not, this is
the kind of thing Trout Mystery does
besL
— Mark Lage
Courtesy Enigma Records
The Smithereens “Green
Thoughts” Enigma
After a highly acclaimed and un
expectedly popular debut album,
“Especially For You,” the Smither
eens are back with another strong
collection that puts to rest worries
about the usual sophomore jinx.
As with “Especially For You,”
“Green Thoughts” is also produced
by Don Dixon, who’s at his best when
bringing out some of the prettier,
more melodic qualities of raw-energy
bar bands.
The crunching rhythm section of
bassist Mike Mesaros and drummer
Dennis Diken, along with guitarist
Jim Babjak, and vocalist Pat DiNizio
makes for an unmistakeable sound of
attention-grabbing intensity.
Songwriter DiNizio has an obvi
ous penchant for a pop hook that snags
the unwary listener right away, and
doesn’t let go until they’ve com
*pletely absorbed his contemplative
longing and hard-hitting imagery.
Starting the album off is “Only A
Memory,” which harkens back to the
last album’s “Behind the Wall of
Sleep.” Both songs contain the same
explosive rhythms and melodic im
pact, and similarly ironic twists of
image-laden phrases. One thing has
changed, however.
Last time, DiNizio was an admirer
from afar, looking up at that ever
elusive Girl of Perfection, and think
ing of her from “behind a wall of
sleep.”
Then he got the girl.
Now she’s no longer a mere
spectre of the imagination, but she’s
still just a dream, and “only a mem
ory.” Phrases like “broken bits of you «
and me” complete the crushing final
ity of it all. Just as with “Wall of
Sleep,” “Only A Memory” greets the
listener with a guitar-drenched, solid,
propulsive rhythm that never lets up.
The rest of the album is filled with
more of DiNizio’s “Green
Thoughts,” some set to more of the
same kind of hard-hitting assault, but
mostly to soft, soulful, minor-key
ballads with the inestimable vocal
talents of Marti Jones in the back
ground.
— Geoff McMurtry
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