Sessions Records
2000
The Power That Be
About This Album
The Powers That Be contains 14 fast, angst-filled hardcore punk tunes clocking in at around 30 minutes. Much of the material here is in the vein of A.F.I., Gorilla Biscuits, and Death by Stereo. That last one isn't hard to understand, as the album was produced by Paul Miner, who has worked with Death by Stereo in the past. The vocals work well with the energy of the album, and songs such as "Struggle" really show some strength. Much of the time they're most reminiscent of Andrew Mandell of the Chicago punk group Crashdog. While the energy and excitement are high, the poor lyrical capability of the band is their downfall. Much of the album comes across as very juvenile, the typical "us versus them" struggle that has been tried year after year by hardcore and punk bands everywhere. While sometimes the subject matter is admirable, there are no doubt means to delve into the subject matter that aren't so obvious to spell out every argument. Some symbolic, enigmatic writing can be a very good thing. Unfortunately, so much of the writing is clichéd and tired that it makes it hard for the mature, older punk and hardcore fan to listen to this without rolling their eyes and letting out a groan that says, "Are these guys serious?" The layout doesn't do much to help the band's cause, either. The entire inside of the album contains a black background with white typewriter text; there are no pictures and very little information about the band, period. The energy and excitement the band can surely generate are no doubt something to be watched, but great strides need to be made in their songwriting for them to achieve any true success. ~ Kurt Morris, All Music Guide
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 and 10)

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