For those unaware, this is a hip-hop/hardcore band featuring a slew of the DMS dudes that are/have been in bands like Subzero, Skarhead, and Madball, among others. Sadly I was a little disappointed when I got this disc to find out that it's just a reissue of their "Five Borough Manhunt" EP with three bonus tracks (one of which is a remix, and one of which is a rough mix), whereas I thought it was an actual full-length record of new material. Oh well. A lot of people hate this stuff, but I like it. It took me awhile to get used to the vocals because they're mixed sort of loud and sometimes the flow isn't completely tight, but it's a solid listen. I can enjoy it. Musically the riffing ranges from metallic hardcore to a little bit of rock, to heavier grooves, and a little bit of melody as well (including some clean guitars at times). The tempos tend to be moderately paced to give the vocal patterns more room to breathe, but the recording is the one thing really holding them back. The drums sound decent, as do the guitars, but there's almost no bass in the mix (surprisingly) and the bass tone needs to be thicker. I'd also absolutely mix the vocals back in, because they're too far out front and it's distracting. If they blended with the instruments better the overall impact would be far stronger. The recording's inconsistent though, so sometimes the bass is about where it should be, etc. They just need to work on the sound so it doesn't seem thrown together at times. As for the bonus tracks, "5BM (The Ruggedness Remix)", is basically the vocal tracks from "Five Borough Manhunt" mixed back in with some hip-hop beats and stuff. "New York, Bring it On (Rough Mix)" is the best song on the CD, it's much smoother and catchier as far as the writing, but it sucks that it's a rough mix, because it's really quiet and lacks punch. The title track closes out and features some guest vocals from Ezec and Puerto Rican Mike, combining a really dry guitar tone with hip-hop beats and more overly loud vocals. But it's still a little bit smoother in the writing department. The mastering sort of blows, in my opinion. Because the five songs from the original EP are way louder than the first two bonus tracks, while the last song is mixed really loud and raw, and that's sort of annoying. The layout's totally different from the original EP release. I like the cover art, which is sort of a new take on the band's old logo, but the rest of the layout is so-so. I don't like how the band photo is tinted red with everyone's eyes blurred out, and the center spread is all text - somehow managing to cram in all of the lyrics for the first five tracks. It's not too bad, but not all that interesting either. The lyrics, well... I mean, they're not good. But I really never knew how seriously this band wanted to be taken since it seems like they're just kind of having fun and doing the whole hip-hop exaggerated storytelling thing. "From the school of hard knox, you perpetrate, you're catchin' buckshots, pullin' out glocks, sucker catchin' speed knots, and when it's all done you know I don't stop. I waste a life because a life wastes me, there's no escape from God, try suicide but you're still not free, the end of the line is the cemetery..." You probably know whether or not this is something that you might like, so... you don't need me to tell you one way or another. I will say that for some bizarre reason this disc, as well as the original "Five Borough Manhunt" EP, has been insanely elusive in the US - despite the fact that this particular CD is on an American label. But if you search hard enough you can find it. I wish they'd do another record more in the vein of "New York, Bring it On"...
[Too Damn Hype]
Running time - 35:27, Tracks: 8
[Notable tracks: No Escape, Five Borough Manhunt, New York, Bring it On (Rough Mix)]
Too Damn Hype - http://www.toodamnhype.com
