E.Town Concrete "The Second Coming" CD
[Razor & Tie]
I was sort of surprised to see the first two E.Town discs get reissued, but sure enough, here they are, and remastered with a couple of live bonus tracks to boot. I loved this record when it came out, and I still feel that from a writing standpoint there are some absolutely incredible songs on this disc, but in retrospect it doesn't hold as much weight as the other two. What they really ought to do one day is just re-record the best songs from this disc, because the recording's just too flawed, and the remastering actually makes it worse in my opinion. It sounds like they tried to take a little bit of the low-end edge off and clear things up a bit, but that makes it sound too thin. The drums are definitely clearer and more prominent, but something's still significantly off to the point where I have to give my ears time to get used to it. The guitars just need a warmer, thicker tone and the vocals need to blend with the music more. I don't know. A lot of people hate this band, but I've always loved 'em, even though I generally hate "rap-metal" with a passion, but something about E.Town Concrete is much more authentic than any other aggressive band with a massive hip-hop influence - not to mention the fact that they are immeasurably more skilled as both writers and musicians. Musically there's a lot more melody here than on the first record, and even the use of jazz influences and classical guitars, piano, etc. One of the things that really makes E.Town Concrete step aside from the pack is the complexity of their music and delivery. While most heavy bands that implement rap oriented influences rely solely on simplicity and "groove", E.Town is just the opposite - always introducing new styles and approaches to their sound. The bonus live tracks aren't really that great, the performances are alright, but the live sound could definitely be cleaner, so I don't really see the value in tacking on those songs at all. The new layout looks nice, though. The liner notes about this point in the band's existence are actually pretty interesting, the lyrics are all here, etc. In addition to boring and typically expected topics associated with money and success, there are also tracks that deal with issues like abortion and child abuse from really interesting perspectives. These guys' music is just catchy and powerful, and definitely some of the most original I've ever heard. As I mentioned before, this band has more than a few detractors who criticize them for their use of rap lingo and such elements, but who cares? This is real music and not the typical mainstream "rap-metal" bullshit. If you are a fan of extreme music and have any appreciation for rap whatsoever, you should definitely enjoy at least one records from these guys. I definitely recommend "Time 2 Shine" or "The Renaissance" over this, though... there's just no way around that in my book. (7/10)
Running time - 49:57, Tracks: 13
[Notable tracks: First Born, Pacemaker, Stranglehold, Shaydee]
E.Town Concrete - http://www.etownconcrete.net

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