This is some of the heaviest ska you will ever here. Leftover Crack were formed by a few members of Chocking Victim, in the early days of the twenty first century. They incorperated a fusion of ska, punk, hardcore and the odd bit of classical. The band members themselves being angry with a conservative and an intolerant society in the USA. The first album by these guys was released in 2001 with the title of Mediocre Generica.
Line up:
Stz-Lead vocals, guitar
Ezra-Guitar
Alec-Bass
Ara-Drums
The album opens with Homeo-Apathy, which has a strong hardcore riff and sounds more like a metal song with the chorus being grunted out. Interesting opener but not my type of song. Nazi White Trash, follows next. This has a catchy ska riff and is an enjoyable song. It is an attack aimed at the leaders of America and how out of touch they are with the people they are supposed to represent. Cool song. Atheist Anthem is up next. This boasts an elaborate intro with a strong drum beat. The intro itself is about a minute long and then it launches into a fast guitar riff. The band, themselves, odviously have a deep hatred of religion and it has odviously screwed them over in the past.
The Good, The Bad And The Leftover Crack follows next and could probably be the bands personal anthem. Fast druming, great vocals and amazing guitar work Again this song attacks the church. Although it's quite short it is pretty admirable. The next track, Gay Rude Boys Unite, is a strong ska-punk song and is a call to arms for gays to fight for their rights. It also exposes how racism and intolerance are just evil and that people should treat each other equally. Probably my favourite song on the album. NC is the next track and has a hardcore feel to it. It is another short song and there isn't a huge amount to say about it. Interlude, follows and is a classical piece played on the piano. It feels a bit out of place after the previous song but it does bave fairly impressive piano playing.
Stop The Insanity, is a song in which the band call for the destruction of Earth's residents. It is another hardcore orientated song and features strong guitar and bass playing. Crack City Rockers follows and is slower tempo ska song, about being beaten up by the police. The riff on this is probably one of the best on the album. The drum playing is pretty impresive as well. However the album gets a bit weak now. Burning In The Water is another hardcore song and sounds like a metal song. The vocals are also a bit disappointing. To much screaming.
The next song is also a weak number. It is another short track and sounds like an elaboration of Burning In The Water. Their is also some bizarre growling on the outro. However, Born To Die makes up for the last few tracks. A soft intro starts it off with soft vocals and then launchs into the verse, druming and guitar playing is again strong and the song it self is about the futillity of life (as the title suggests). Best hardcore track on the album. The last track is untiltled but is a rather fun little ska instrumental.
Overall, this album is reasonably great. Some of the tracks are bit disappointing, but the ska songs are superb. Guitar and bass playing is pretty excellent through out. The druming is also pretty good (being a drummer I tend to pick out the drum beats). The only let down is some of the hardcore tracks and the vocals are a little slurred in places. Still a pretty consistant album through out.
Recommended tracks:
Atheist Anthem
The Good, The Bad And The Leftover Crack
Gay Rude Boys Unite
Crack City Rockers
Born To Die
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