10 song CD, self released. The Army of Darkness are a 5 piece band that was created from people who were from all around the world, such as Michigan, Florida, Taiwan, and the Netherlands. This CD clocks in at a tight 30:27, with each song running a tad bit over 3 minutes on the average. The music that the AoD play is a very catchy style, a phenomenon that begins with the beginning track, “Lifesaversâ€, which has a catchy chorus and clean guitars to push it forward.
Also a definite plus to this song is the bass line laid on the track by Mike Morlock. For a band who has only been around a total of 4 years, they have oodles of talent and one can almost tell that they will hit it big. The tracks on this CD enjoy a great deal of coherence, as the strong multi-member choruses are a common find on this disc. “Vegan Girl†also marks the first digression from the very successful style that the AoD are known for. The beginning of “Angersweet†matches perfectly with the end of “Vegan Girlâ€, and contains a great number of catchy guitar riffs that endear the AoD to the massive audiences the world over. As with the other songs, “Angersweet†contains one odd guitar arrangement that completely changes my perception about the disc while keeping the general three chord formula intact.
“On The Wayâ€, while sounding relatively similar to the first few tracks, has a depressive feel, that of a longing. The next four tracks are from a live show that was played 29 Jan 2001at the Backstage, and I honestly can only discern a minor loss of quality from the studio tracks to the live ones. The actual playing of the songs are as good, if not better, then the studio tracks, as they have increased the level of bass on the tracks. A sense of urgency is also added to the tracks that are live, which is especially noting during “Kafkaâ€. A female voice is also present during the aforementioned song, and the banter during the live tracks reminds one of a Fugazi live show. However, the recording is a hell of a lot better then Fugazi. “Nice Guy†is another memorable song on the CD, with an excellent set of lyrics and very interesting arrangements. Get in touch with them at Jos Dukers, Dagobertstraat 90, 6132 ER Sittard, tel 06-4111951 or 06-28717027 or [email protected], http://www.theaod.com.
Rating 7.3/10.
The Army Of Darkness – This Is Not A Lifesaving Device.
Can I just add that this is one of my favourite punky albums? This really turned me onto punk when I was a kid. I had Vegan Girl dedicated to me so I may just be a bit biased. I’m very upset to learn that TheAoD.com is now a WoW site 🙁 I know that it hasn’t worked for years, but you always hope that your favourite bands get back together.