Glassjaw. A name everyone knows. Quite possibly the most influential band of the late 20th century. They are the leaders in the Long Island music scene. Ever since their origins in the early 1990’s they have had a huge fan base on Long Island and it they are even more popular now. The album that got that mainstream success and a lot more fans is their second full length entitled,
Worship And Tribute. Released in 2002 this could be the first really great album of the new millennium. It is an instant classic and should be remembered forever for it’s hammering guitar riffs, amazing vocals, outstanding lyrics, great bass lines and an overall haunting and uneasy sound that is
Worship And Tribute.
Worship And Tribute, does not sound like Glassjaw’s previous records.
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence, was more metal that anything else, and was a very heavy and emotional record. With
Worship And Tribute, Glassjaw was able to put in the same emotion and mellow out the music making it enjoyable to those who can’t stand the sound of metal. While some songs such as
Stuck Pig and
Two Tabs Of Mescaline, we get a throwback to the earlier, heavier days of Glassjaw. But the rest of the tracks have a new feel to them. A different feeling which is alien to old Glassjaw fans, but can be easily accepted if you give it a good listen.
Mu Empire is the second track of the record and one of the best. With a drum part and power chords ringing, the intro alone let’s you know what is coming, then Beck and Weinstock hit you with a blistering metal guitar riff that will snap you in two. Then Daryl Palumbo’s vocals come in, sending shivers down your spine, instantly reminding you of the old days of seeing Glassjaw play in some guys basement six years ago.
Mu Empire is a catchy, and highly enjoyable song and is one of the greats.
Ape Dos Mil which is the single off the album is very odd and dark song. With a steady drum beat and some interesting guitars in the background, and with lyrics like, “It's just a tango. But it's not easy, you show. I walk around with my horns out now, but it's not easy to show,” gives you a very odd feeling, and is one of Glassjaw’s greatest songs. Very catchy, and haunting, no wonder this was the single of the record. Another slower song, but a great song none the less is [b[Must’ve Run All Day[/b] which is a very slow acoustic feeling song with just a slow drum part and very mellow and melodic guitars. This song is filled with memorable lyrics and is a very moving song that represents the new sound of Glassjaw.
Radio Cambodia is the most energetic, punk oriented song on the album. It is every similar to Ry Ry’s Song off of
Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Silence. It is very fast paced and you can close your eyes and just imagine Glassjaw playing it live and seeing the crowd moving around, and it just makes you appreciate the band that much more. This is another throwback to their old material in that it is fast paced and can be related to other songs off of their older records. Definitely one of the greatest Glassjaw songs.
Two Tabs Of Mescaline is the epic of
Worship And Tribute. Starting off with dual guitars of a nice D pentatonic scale, with a harmonization over that. After the intro, the vocals come in singing, “This is worship and this is tribute, crumbling, ripping and failing. Knowing you fit in...” continuing into a “breakdown” of sorts with Daryl screaming over it, back into the mellow verse and near the end it just breaks down into screaming one second, then a pause… “SAILOR SCENT!” Pause… “SAILOR SCENT!” and ending on guitar feedback and as it fades out we look back at the intensity of this album and that this is a classic. A magnificent closer for a magnificent album.
Although I recommend every track, I highly recommend:
Mu Empire
Ape Dos Mil
Must’ve Run All Day
Radio Cambodia
Two Tabs Of Mescaline
PROs
Every song is phenomenal
No filler at all
Amazing lyrics with great music to back it up.
CONs
There really isn’t any at all.
BUY THIS RECORD, YOU WON’T REGRET IT
