Someone needs to tell Rye Coalition that Classic Rock is dead, Metallica sold out, Michael Stipe and Eddie Vedder now sing audibly and Rage Against the Machine broke up.
On second thought, don't say a word. The world might miss out.
Rye Coalition takes the dinosaurs of rock, retools 'em for 2002 and spits it all back out in a dizzying, jarring rock and roll journey that leaves you panting, sweating, and wondering if you should call an ambulance for the heart palpations.
From start to finish, with appropriately two breaks in between, songs 5 and most of 10, Rye Coalition wrings you out, wears you out, and makes you ask, are these guys serious?
How many bands these days record a song that opens with a freakin' drum solo? Well, Rye Coalition does, on "Hot Strikes," then throws in a guitar riff worthy of a Van Halen album during the Roth Era.
The story of this album is the music. The vocals are good but are jarring when mixed in with the virtuoso musicianship. But, the vocals work exactly because of the contrast with the music. Just as you start to settle in, Ralph G. Cusegllo comes in and slaps you upside the head with lyrics that he may or not mean. For instance, this little gem, "She'll slide down your pole/Let you spray the hose, on such a hot day."
The music slips from rock to punk to blues to rock and back to punk, sometimes within the span of 45 seconds. These guys are comfortable playing together and the music shows it.
The standout song, and it almost seems wrong to highlight any one song, is "Heart of Gold, Jacket of Leather." A song about New Jersey that sounds like it could have been recorded by Bruce Springsteen, except is not condescending enough (and minus the horns), and passed up by Bon Jovi because they couldn't figure out to play the guitar parts (and they really can't get past the whole hair issue.)
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