The Stakeout "On the Run" CD
[Deranged]
Straight up hardcore/punk from Finland featuring some members of Selfish, and played in more of an old school American style. Perhaps taking the straightforward attack and punk edge of the early-80's and adding in some of the more memorable arrangements and vocal performances of some of the youth crew styles with a dash of crossover thrash - but not favoring one direction over the other. Expect plenty of speed, raw yelling vocals, pounding basslines, and no bullshit. Borderline catchy tracks like "Cold War" definitely bring to mind bands like D.S. 13, but the vocals here are fuller and a bit more in your face. I like the style of hardcore they're playing here because it's not melodic, but it's also not devoid of feeling. It's not just fast, fast, fast and all aggressive to the point where everything becomes a blur and gets boring. Make no mistake, there's not particularly a great deal of variety either, but they've got a nice foundation in place and they handle it well. Ample tempo changes are in place, there are a few tracks like the aforementioned "Cold War" and "Make Noise" that introduce some gang backup vocals and catchier song structures, etc. Plus they drop a cover of Suicidal Tendencies' "Memories of Tomorrow", and you can't lose with that in my book. And check out the slower, darker chords of "Wait & See"! That's what I'm talking about... As for the production, it's good, but I think it could be better. It's on the thin side, and there are some issues that bug me. I like the light distortion on the bass, but that can add unnecessary grit to the mix and sort of clouds some of the bass parts, the drums and vocals sound good, but the cymbals can be thin and hover above everything else, while the guitars have the proper level of distortion for this style, but lack density and have an unnatural sort of ring to them. I guess I'd just like to hear a bit more clarity in the mix, with a little more warmth. The vocals sound perfect, I'd try to work around that. The entire layout is black and white with high contrast artwork and a ton of live band shots as well as some images of show flyers. The lyrics are handwritten, and the content is all pissed as hell, at times attacking things in a slightly political sense, others taking the more general direction. "Another tear in the ocean, A cry no one will hear, There's no turning back anymore, There's no fucking way to stop it, The world's in a downhill slide, It's gonna crash and burn..." This gets the green light from me. I'm not blown away, but I'm into it, and I could definitely see the band getting better and better with time. (7/10)
Running time - 18:24, Tracks: 16
[Notable tracks: Cold War, Make Noise, Memories of Tomorrow, Changes, Wait & See]
Deranged Records - http://www.derangedrecords.com

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