Posted on: June 14, 2010 Posted by: AAA NeuFutur.com Comments: 0

Juggernott is another of the Greencastle band that really are more intense and impressive in a live session. The mastering and recording on “Necessary Evil” is top-shelf, but even it is not able to proper re-create the fury that Juggernott brings to each venue they play. The guitars, laid down by Barry Bollinger, are given an equal stake in the process, something that really is hidden at times in the live set with the tremendous drumming of Steve. What really shows as a weakness on “Necessary Evil” early on are the incredibly-long, pseudo-epics of the track – hell, “Time Has Come” is the first track on the disc and it weighs in at seven long minutes. Not to say the other tracks are much shorter – the average length of a Juggernott song on this disc is over five and a half minutes. The band does put enough on-track to maintain and rationalize their longer tracks, but even then, the effect they could be having on their listener base would be much more if they could cut down some of the tracks and allow only the essentials to shine. If this condensation of tracks is not possible, how about stacking some of the tracks in a way to start out punchy and strong and then lead-in to much more involved and dense tracks like “Quest For Comfort”?

Another minor issue that comes up on listening to this CD are the extended clips that Juggernott uses in track, often times layering them over very monotonous and repetitive guitar/drum dynamics. The length of these clips, coupled with the aforementioned mediocre guitar riffs, really drags down any momentum that Juggernott may have had, and forces them largely to start again. Juggernott’s music is solid, reminiscent of Rust in Peace-era Megadeth, but they have not found the right studio or producer yet. The best way to see the intense fury that is Juggernott would be to forego the CD (unless you want to just give the band money) and get them to play somewhere around. The music, while still maintaining its solid structure (in terms of arrangements) and rough edge, is confined in too small of a box. It is only during tracks like “No Good-byes”, a “lighter” track that the band can really begin to shine with the lustre that they deserve. A solid album, but representative of the band in only the slightest sense. See them life.

Top Tracks: No Good-Byes, Slipping Through The Cracks

Rating: 6.0/10

Juggernott – Necessary Evil / 2004 Self-Released / 11 Tracks / http://www.juggernott.com / [email protected] / Reviewed 25 March 2005

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