- Apr 5, 2003
- 2,668
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Negative Reaction - Under The Ancient Penalty
This Dark Reign - 2006
By Brandon Strader
Prepare thyself for a lesson in the genre of poop metal, forged in the firy depths of heck by these legendary purveyers of poop. I know, I know... the correct term is "sludge" metal, but poop is a variant of the word sludge, and if you consider this music, it actually makes a lot of sense, as this is quite poopful.
Now I don't want to seem biased because of the outcome of this review, as I do quite enjoy the occasional poop, but this is just average poop promoted and hyped up as if it were some kind of amazing poop, and it doesn't live up to the hype. We should have known Under the Ancient Penalty would be an average release though, just look at the title... It just screams "average!" right in your face... and the band name? Negative Reaction. I guess that's what we're having during the listening sessions of this album, eh?
Now that we've passed that little brick of hilarity, let's continue. There was some potential in this music, with it's slooow tempo and simple riffs... Negative Reaction have spent some time in the NYC hardcore scene, but they don't create hardcore poop. In fact, it's still just poop, very average poop. Actually hardcore mixed with their style probably wouldn't have worked out too well. Under The Ancient Penalty sounds completely effortless - in a bad way. Even the "solo" featured in the first track was horribly out of key and time...
The vocals are pretty decent at times, and fairly well performed, well, for sludge metal anyway. The scream-ish ones contain too much voice, though, and sadly stay in a monotone, off-key sound. The clean vocals are the decent ones, also sounding very uninspired and forced, but at least they sound better than the screams.
The band does go into some cool slow progressions, like in the track 'Pain' and it makes for a somewhat enjoyable, yet melancholic listen, until the heaviness and high-pitched monotone cookie monster breaks in again. I'll state this for the record, yet I don't know if people really expect a memorable experience out of sludge metal, there surely isn't one to be had here...
If you're a fan of poop, you will love Negative Reaction. There are probably a hundred bands that have made better sludge metal though, so why bother? These guys make me want to find our old "No Sludge Zoning" sign in the basement, dust it off, and put it back on display. Luckily, the sludge was kept out of our town back then, and hopefully it can keep Under The Ancient Penalty from haunting me in my sleep and giving me cancer.
4/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Negative Reaction Website
Official This Dark Reign Website
This Dark Reign - 2006
By Brandon Strader
Prepare thyself for a lesson in the genre of poop metal, forged in the firy depths of heck by these legendary purveyers of poop. I know, I know... the correct term is "sludge" metal, but poop is a variant of the word sludge, and if you consider this music, it actually makes a lot of sense, as this is quite poopful.
Now I don't want to seem biased because of the outcome of this review, as I do quite enjoy the occasional poop, but this is just average poop promoted and hyped up as if it were some kind of amazing poop, and it doesn't live up to the hype. We should have known Under the Ancient Penalty would be an average release though, just look at the title... It just screams "average!" right in your face... and the band name? Negative Reaction. I guess that's what we're having during the listening sessions of this album, eh?
Now that we've passed that little brick of hilarity, let's continue. There was some potential in this music, with it's slooow tempo and simple riffs... Negative Reaction have spent some time in the NYC hardcore scene, but they don't create hardcore poop. In fact, it's still just poop, very average poop. Actually hardcore mixed with their style probably wouldn't have worked out too well. Under The Ancient Penalty sounds completely effortless - in a bad way. Even the "solo" featured in the first track was horribly out of key and time...
The vocals are pretty decent at times, and fairly well performed, well, for sludge metal anyway. The scream-ish ones contain too much voice, though, and sadly stay in a monotone, off-key sound. The clean vocals are the decent ones, also sounding very uninspired and forced, but at least they sound better than the screams.
The band does go into some cool slow progressions, like in the track 'Pain' and it makes for a somewhat enjoyable, yet melancholic listen, until the heaviness and high-pitched monotone cookie monster breaks in again. I'll state this for the record, yet I don't know if people really expect a memorable experience out of sludge metal, there surely isn't one to be had here...
If you're a fan of poop, you will love Negative Reaction. There are probably a hundred bands that have made better sludge metal though, so why bother? These guys make me want to find our old "No Sludge Zoning" sign in the basement, dust it off, and put it back on display. Luckily, the sludge was kept out of our town back then, and hopefully it can keep Under The Ancient Penalty from haunting me in my sleep and giving me cancer.
4/10
UM's Review Rating Scale
Official Negative Reaction Website
Official This Dark Reign Website
And wow dude, you've posted a ton of reviews... that's craziness, man!
