Jonathan Hill

Tag: Hard Rock

  • Kvelertak Nattesferd Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Kvelertak
    Album: Nattesferd
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Punk Rock
    Released: 2016
    Length: 47 minutes
    Language(s): Norwegian
    Label(s): Roadrunner

    Track List:

    01. Dendrofil for Yggdrasil
    02. 1985
    03. Nattesferd
    04. Svartmesse
    05. Bronsegud
    06. Ondskapens Galakse
    07. Berserkr
    08. Heksebrann
    09. Nekrodamus

    Kvelertak Nattesferd Cover
    Kvelertak Nattesferd Cover

    Kvelertak Nattesferd Review

    Nattesferd is the third studio album by Norwegian rock band Kvelertak. While they have been referred to as a black metal/rock hybrid in the past it is hardly relevant to Nattesferd because Dendrofil for Yggdrasil is the only black metal song, along with part of Berserkr, on the entire album. Almost everything else is broadly hard rock or punk rock filtered through the lo-fi aesthetic of black metal with a vomitus vocal style spraying all over the music. The lyrics all happen to be in Norwegian and given how they’re delivered it is questionable how intelligible they are, even to a native speaker.

    After opening with a black metal song, Kvelertak immediately shifts to hard rock and then alternates between that and punk rock up to and including Ondskapens Galakse. The fusion and alternation of all these different elements is novel but in practice comes across as disjointed (and arguably unfocused) despite the sincerity and passion that the band clearly possesses. The vocal style doesn’t suit any of the hard rock songs and they detract from the experience since songs in this subgenre tend to sound powerful and spirited, whereas this leaves you lacklustre and wanting an actual singer that could have really made the songs into something special.

    Berserkr, as the name implies, goes all out with the aggression and wild experimentation in which they blend all three styles into a single song. The majority of the song is black metal meets punk rock and from the bridge onwards the hard rock influences seep back in. To Kvelertak’s credit this is pulled of remarkably well and is certainly a highlight of Nattesferd, as is Bronsegud, a short and punchy hardcore punk flavoured song where the vocal style seems to fit almost naturally.

    The last two songs on the album, Heksebrann and Nekrodamus, are almost yin and yang to each other. Heksebrann is a curveball at 9 minutes long while drawing on progressive rock and having a large instrumental section lasting about 4 minutes at the beginning. This contrasts with Nekrodamus, which continues the Kvelertak tradition of having “Nekro” in a song title, and is the complete antithesis of Heksebrann. This song sees hard rock stripped back to the basics and is much slower compared to the other songs, which once again take the listener in an unexpected direction, but is a bit longer than it needs to be.

    It’s always good to hear a band perform in their native language and for anyone to embrace the spirit of rock wholeheartedly to the same extent that Kvelertak does. However, the scattershot approach to writing for several subgenres is often inconsistent and they seem to rely on the unpolished aesthetics and consistent use of harsh vocals to add a cohesive thread to the album.

    Performers:

    Erlend Hjelvik: Vocals
    Vidar Landa: Guitar
    Bjarte Lund Rolland: Guitar, Piano
    Maciek Ofstad: Guitar, Vocals
    Marvin Nygaard: Bass
    Kjetil Gjermundrød: Drums

    External Links:

    Kvelertak Homepage
    Kvelertak on Wikipedia
    Nattesferd on Wikipedia

  • Disturbed Indestructible Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Indestructible
    Genre(s): Heavy Metal, Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Traditional Heavy Metal
    Released: 2008
    Length: 50 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise

    Track List:

    01. Indestructible
    02. Inside the Fire
    03. Deceiver
    04. The Night
    05. Perfect Insanity
    06. Haunted
    07. Enough
    08. The Curse
    09. Torn
    10. Criminal
    11. Divide
    12. Façade

    Disturbed Indestructible Cover
    Disturbed Indestructible Cover

    Disturbed Indestructible Review

    Indestructible is the fourth album by Disturbed and their second in the hard rock/traditional heavy metal style that was adopted on their last album, Ten Thousand Fists. Aside from a small step forward in musicianship not much has changed stylistically and Indestructible is a direction continuation of that sound.

    This time around there are less songs and a slightly shorter running time which both work in Disturbed’s favour because despite refining their knack for high calibre anthems even further, Indestructible is very much a by the numbers effort and the first few songs will let you know exactly what you’re in for so not much is going to catch you off guard.

    The title track gets the ball rolling and sets the tone perfectly with a mid-paced guitar riff that is preceded by air raid sirens. The lyrics have an inspirational angle that is used to address and motivate soldiers which contrasts with the contemplational lyrics of Overburdened, a song from Ten Thousand Fists, which deals with the morality of war and its consequences.

    Many of the other lyrics found on Indestructible deal with harsher subject matter such as suicide (Inside the Fire), mental illness (Perfect Insanity) and domestic abuse (Façade) but if your band operates under the moniker Disturbed you probably feel somewhat obligated to live up to your name.

    Unlike the infamous shock monologue heard on Down with the Sickness from their debut album, Façade is far more mature in dealing with the subject matter of domestic abuse, which describes the situation of a female victim with David Draiman questioning “for how long will you try?/how long until you walk away?/your facade can’t disguise/the fact that you’re in misery” before the situation is escalated to her retaliation with lines like “homicide flashes through her mind again/no more pain, take control/if he raises his hand again/she’ll find her freedom in killing him/the world will see that she’s had enough” which points to her taking her partners life and the situation subsequently unfolding through the media.

    Perfect Insanity and Divide were both originally written before the release of their debut, The Sickness, in 2000 but they didn’t make it onto the album and it’s not hard to see why since they didn’t adhere to the strict nu metal sound that Disturbed moved onto at that stage in their career. The groove metal foundation of these songs translates into their current hard rock/traditional heavy metal sound exceptionally well because they both offer a lot of aggression that is rounded off with their emphasis on melody to bring the best of both worlds together.

    Other moments on the album such as the bridge to Enough ramp up the aggression not only in terms of instruments but also in terms of David Draiman’s vocal delivery, which is done with a deeper snarling voice that is outright ferocious. His manic laughter on Inside the Fire is another highlight in its own right while the keyboards/programmed parts heard on some songs are tastefully integrated to enhance the atmosphere.

    To some listeners Indestructible could start to wear thin after a few listens because Disturbed haven’t really pushed their sound out of the box on this album but their ability to fuse hard driving guitar anthems with an unrivalled sense of melody will undoubtedly allow them to embed themselves in your ears after any amount of time spent listening to them.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitar, electronics
    Mike Wengren: Drums, backing vocals
    John Moyer: Bass guitar

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia
    Indestructible on Wikipedia

  • Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Review

    General Information:

    Artist: Disturbed
    Album: Ten Thousand Fists
    Genre(s): Heavy Metal, Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Traditional Heavy Metal
    Released: 2005
    Length: 56 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Reprise

    Track List:

    01. Ten Thousand Fists
    02. Just Stop
    03. Guarded
    04. Deify
    05. Stricken
    06. I’m Alive
    07. Sons of Plunder
    08. Overburdened
    09. Decadence
    10. Forgiven
    11. Land of Confusion (Genesis Cover)
    12. Sacred Lie
    13. Pain Redefined
    14. Avarice

    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Cover
    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Cover

    Disturbed Ten Thousand Fists Review

    Ten Thousand Fists is the third studio album by Disturbed. With the popularity of nu metal rapidly declining most bands in the subgenre chose to take another path and Disturbed are no exception to this as they embrace a sound that is somewhere between hard rock and traditional heavy metal for Ten Thousand Fists.

    With the musicianship of drummer Mike Wengren and guitarist Dan Donegan being heavily contained on Disturbed’s nu metal albums for the most part, Ten Thousand Fists makes its evident that they want to do more or at the least get back to the level that they were at when playing groove metal under the name Brawl.

    The songs are faster, sound more powerful and for the first time there are guitar solos to be heard on several songs including Stricken, Overburdened, Forgiven, Avarice and Land of Confusion, an unexpected cover of a Genesis song that translates exceptionally well into their new sound. There aren’t any weak songs to be found per se but after a few listens it can start to sound a bit played out due to the lack of variety, which isn’t helped by a 56 minute running time and it seems hard trying to justify the length of it for this reason.

    David Draiman’s vocals are as strong as ever and on I’m Alive he cleverly enunciates the words rage and anger when he sings “change again, cannot be considered/I rage again, dispelling my anger” for effect without having to resort to shouting. However his trademark barking noise from The Sickness make an appearance on the title track, Sons of Plunder, Forgiven and Avarice but is absent from most songs.

    His lyrical themes have now progressed onto topics such as war and personal struggles with Decadence addressing self harm and I’m Alive dealing with the pressure of others trying to influence the bands artistic direction to create something that wouldn’t be Disturbed and their subsequent rejection of this.

    Overburdened looks at people killing others in the name of religion or political ideology only to finding themselves queueing up to enter Hell, which is overburdened by the sheer number of people caught up in harmful ideology all while thinking that they’re fighting for a righteous cause. At the start of the song one of these people reflects on this by saying “Fate is so unkind/Now I should have known/Blind leading the blind/Reaping what I’ve sown/If it all amounts to nothing/Why, then, am I standing in this line?” after believing that they were right in doing what they did. David Draiman puts a different lens on this perspective to infer that “holy blessed homicide” is wrong in any context and that people that believe otherwise have been misled, possibly for the gain of others.

    The improved musicianship and deeper lyrical content that has come with the change in sound will surely have won over some new fans and there are many infectious hooks that will get stuck in your head for days after hearing them but on repeated listens some songs will start to wear thin due to the rank and file nature of the album.

    Performers:

    David Draiman: Vocals
    Dan Donegan: Guitar, electronics
    Mike Wengren: Drums, percussion
    John Moyer: Bass guitar

    External Links:

    Disturbed Homepage
    Disturbed on Wikipedia
    Ten Thousand Fists on Wikipedia

  • Alice Cooper Trash Review

    Alice Cooper Trash Review

    Artist: Alice Cooper
    Album: Trash
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
    Released: 1989
    Length: 40 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Epic Records

    Track List:

    01. Poison
    02. Spark in the Dark
    03. House of Fire
    04. Why Trust You
    05. Only My Heart Talkin’
    06. Bed of Nails
    07. This Maniac’s in Love with You
    08. Trash
    09. Hell is Living Without You
    10. I’m Your Gun

    Alice Cooper Trash Cover

    Alice Cooper returned to the throng of commercial success with Trash in 1989. This was his biggest selling album since the mid-1970s and it isn’t hard to see why. Alice Cooper cuts the fat to leave you with the best possible experience; 10 powerhouse rock anthems with a plethora of catchy guitar rhythms and infections sing-along hooks that are bound to snare your ears.

    He tackles 3 topics that more often than not make a pop sensation (sex, love and heart break) with a sleazy, tongue-in-cheek grin that will make you laugh and cringe simultaneously with his blunt refrains. Memorable lines go from “no one else gets as deep inside you as I do” (Bed of Nails) and “pull my trigger, I get bigger, then I’m lots of fun” (I’m Your Gun) to him portraying an obsessed stalker on This Maniac’s In Love With You.

    The 8 boisterous rock anthems are balanced out with Only My Heart Talkin’ and Hell is Living Without You, the 2 slightly more sincere power ballads in which his tone changes fittingly to deal with heart break. It’s worth mentioning that while sincere next to the rest of the album, Only My Heart Talkin’ descends into an incessant animal yelps as part of a long fade out that cues Alice Cooper to get back to what he excels at on Trash. Spark in the Dark takes a nod to Alice Cooper rejecting the use of hard drugs with the line “we don’t need cocaine” after overcoming his own addictions in the early 1980s.

    As far as the recording of Trash goes, it has a distinct 1980s sound to it complete with the era’s cheesy keyboard effects. Thankfully they are used subtly and are relegated to the background so when they come into play, they don’t have enough emphasis in any song to diminish its quality.

    Trash possesses all of the hallmarks of a great rock album. It will have you coming back for more time and time again with Alice Coopers sleazy lyrics delivered in a high energy performance across a small set of songs that never feel played out no matter how many times you listen to them.

  • The Darkness Christmas Time Don’t Let the Bells End Review

    The Darkness Christmas Time Don’t Let the Bells End Review

    Artist: The Darkness
    Album: Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
    Released: 2003
    Length: 7 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Atlantic, Must Destroy

    Track List:

    01. Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End)
    02. I Love You 5 Times

    Darkness Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) Cover

    Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) is a festive EP by The Darkness in 2003 as a bid to grab the Christmas number 1 spot in the UK but landed second after losing out to the joyless Mad World by Gary Jules and Michael Andrews. The single was then featured as a bonus track on the rerelease of their debut album Permission to Land.

    Both songs are rife with the same cheeky humour found on their debut album and since there are only 2 short songs on this EP, The Darkness manages make it more obvious than ever on Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) by letting the double entendres loose to sing about “bells end” “ringing in peace” during the festive season. The song also features a children’s choir and ends with bells and chimes to give it that authentic Christmas feeling while referencing the title in a musical context this time.

    Justin Hawkins maintains his falsetto range and somehow restrains himself from his own flamboyant wailing only to let loose in a desperate plea to grab some attention from the choir when his own voice is buried by them on Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End).

    I Love You 5 Times is a power ballad that is highlighted by its ridiculous lyrics in which Justin Hawkins confesses that “I watch as you spend an hour or two in the bath like a tuna” and “twice a week I take a peek as you bathe like a reptile”. If this wasn’t enough for you he purrs, moans along to the choppy guitar solo and ends the song with a kiss. The lyrics pull the ballad together and wouldn’t be the same without them whereas Christmas Time (Don’t Let the Bells End) is thoroughly enjoyable even if you are completely oblivious to the humour.

    The Darkness put a brilliant, cheeky twist on Christmas cheer by bringing a duo of genuinely jovial songs to the table instead of rehashing tired Christmas classics like countless others have done before.

  • Spiritual Beggars Demons Review

    Spiritual Beggars Demons Review

    Artist: Spiritual Beggars
    Album: Demons
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock, Stoner Rock
    Released: 2005
    Length: 49 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Icarus Music, Inside Out

    Track List:

    01. Inner Strength (Intro)
    02. Throwing Your Life Away
    03. Salt in Your Wounds
    04. One Man Army
    05. Through the Halls
    06. Treading Water
    07. Dying Every Day
    08. Born to Die
    09. Born to Die (Reprise)
    10. In My Blood
    11. Elusive
    12. Sleeping With One Eye Open
    13. No One Heard

    Spiritual Beggars Demons Cover

    Demons is the 6th effort by Swedish quintet Spiritual Beggars. The band draws on influences that span across the rock spectrum to include elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, hard rock and even heavy metal for the colossal song In My Blood. When meshed together these diverse influences form the basis of the semi-obscure stoner rock scene, of which the Spiritual Beggars are usually associated with.

    The lyrics are quite straightforward and focus on the struggles of life, regrets and depression but are presented in a way that is more akin to perseverance than misery. It is the last album by Spiritual Beggars to feature singer Janne “JB” Christoffersson (Grand Magus) whose powerful grit laden voice brings the songs on Demons to life in a way that few others ever could.

    His voice is backed by a plethora of catchy, driven guitar leads and passionate solos courtesy of founding member Michael Amott (Arch Enemy, Carcass). This contrasts with bassist Sharlee D’Angelo as his playing seems to exist somewhere in the middle of everything else and while never being washed out, he rarely comes to the forefront. He gives the album a denser sound quality but lacks many of the outstanding moments you’ll hear coming from the guitar.

    Spiritual Beggars frequently delve into fluid instrumental passages that give each band member the chance to really come to life and show that they have perfected their craft. Drummer Ludwig Witt injects creative fills between verses and keyboardist Per Wiberg provides colourful, sometimes textural keyboard lines (and an extended solo at the end of Dying Every Day). He often sounds like he is taking on a support role but if he featured more prominently it could have introduced an exciting and different dynamic to their sound.

    Spiritual Beggars embody the heart and soul of rock music on Demons and in doing so they create a genre defining album that should have a place in the collection of all rock fanatics.

  • Device Device Review

    Device Device Review

    Artist: Device
    Album: Device
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
    Released: 2013
    Length: 40 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Warner Bros. Records

    Track List:

    01. You Think You Know
    02. Penance
    03. Vilify
    04. Close My Eyes Forever (feat. Lzzy Hale) (Lita Ford Cover)
    05. Out of Line (feat. Serj Tankian & Geezer Butler)
    06. Hunted
    07. Opinion (feat. Tom Morello)
    08. War of Lies
    09. Haze (feat. M. Shadows)
    10. Through it All (feat. Glenn Hughes)

    Device Device Cover

    Device is the new collaborative project started by Disturbed frontman David Draiman and former Filter guitarist Geno Lenardo. The sound can best be described as a continuation of where Disturbed left off with Asylum, only with a return of the electronic effects reminiscent of The Sickness while performing under a new moniker.

    Song-writing ultimately remains the same as what you would expect from Disturbed but with a few small deviations. Hunted is the most obvious song to point at for the new bands experimentation. It has Device jumping into the deep end of the pool as they infused slow, ominous electronic segments with louder guitar passages that makes it a credit to the album. If this fusion was a common element in Devices debut, it would definitely bring the album into its own.

    Device features a multitude of guest performers with perhaps the most memorable being Lzzy Hale (Halestorm), who performs a duet with Draiman on their cover of Lita Fords Close My Eye Forever. While faithful to the original song that featured Ozzy Osbourne, Device injects their personality into the song to give a fresh take on it that prevents them from cloning the original.

    Devices debut will probably be a hit amongst hardcore Disturbed fans after they went on hiatus in 2011. Unfortunately not enough has been done with Device to step out of the shadow of Disturbed sans the occasional flirtation with the electronic elements.

  • Andrew WK The Wolf Review

    Artist: Andrew WK
    Album: The Wolf
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
    Released: 2003
    Length: 43 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Island

    Track List:

    01. Victory Strikes Again
    02. Long Live the Party
    03. Tear it Up
    04. Free Jumps
    05. Never Let Down
    06. Your Rules
    07. The Song
    08. Make Sex
    09. Totally Stupid
    10. Really in Love
    11. The End of Our Lives
    12. I Love Music

    Andrew WK The Wolf Cover
    Andrew WK The Wolf Cover

    Andrew WK The Wolf Review

    The Wolf has some noticeable changes when compared to Andrew WK’s debut effort, I Get Wet. The most striking of which is that the overly sleek, everything-must-be-as-loud-as-possible approach that left all of the instruments in uniform before has been abandoned in favour of creating a more varied and dynamic album. This can be seen through the introduction of flashy guitar leads, louder and improved drum work as well as keyboard/piano playing that comes to the forefront on occasion.

    He no longer relies on the simple mantras to be the focal point of each song and has instead opted to replace them with longer verses with marginally less repetition. The lyrics tend to deal with motivation, life and positivity in addition to the love and party themes that Andrew WK has become known for. While sometimes singing clearly, he also falls into a throaty singing voice that isn’t always easy to understand and can feel out of place at times now that the tempo has been cut back across some of the songs.

    The expansion on his established style prevents him from becoming a self-parody and won’t alienate his core audience anytime soon with this album as he has managed to put enough new material forward to keep the listener engaged without thinking that it is just a reworking of his last effort.

    External Links:

    Andrew WK Homepage
    Andrew WK on Wikipedia | The Wolf on Wikipedia
    Andrew WK on Discogs | The Wolf on Discogs

  • The Darkness Permission to Land Review

    Artist: The Darkness
    Album: Permission to Land
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
    Released: 2003
    Length: 38 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Atlantic

    Track List:

    01. Black Shuck
    02. Get Your Hands off My Woman
    03. Growing on Me
    04. I Believe in a Thing Called Love
    05. Love is Only a Feeling
    06. Givin’ Up
    07. Stuck in a Rut
    08. Friday Night
    09. Love on the Rocks No Ice
    10. Holding My Own

    Darkness Permission to Land Cover

    The Darkness Permission to Land Review

    Permission to Land is the over the top debut album by The Darkness that features the flag song and lead single I Believe in a Thing Called Love that they quickly and deservingly became known for. The album throws back to the hard rock sound of the 70’s and 80’s, while overflowing with memorable guitar riffs and solos, audible bass (somewhat of a rarity in rock music), and the outrageous vocal talents of Justin Hawkins. The drums, while not getting as much of the spotlight, provide a solid backing to each song and have a more noticeable presence in the power ballads and during the bridges and breaks of the louder songs.

    In addition to standard rock instrumentation, there are some incredibly brief and overly subtle uses of a keyboard on Get Your Hands Off My Woman and Holding My Own, a barely audible piano in Friday Night (which also features a low, quiet purring noise) and an acoustic guitar that shimmers on Love is Only a Feeling.

    Hawkins’ voice stays firmly in the falsetto range for the majority of the album and isn’t afraid to flex his vocal cords to show off his abilities. There are some offbeat moments as well, such as on the albums opener, Black Shuck, in which he alternates between high notes most women couldn’t reach and a snarling tone before jumping back into the style that he has become known for. He later performs a 10 second shriek-slash-gargling noise that sounds like it came straight from the bowels of Hell itself.

    His voice is pushed right to the limits on Stuck in a Rut (listen from the 2.40 marker) and the lyrics throughout this song (and sometimes others) become incomprehensible amidst his ear piercing performances. In between all of this, he somehow manages to find time to break off to perform a manic laugh that makes you think he’s fallen right out of his tree.

    As you can judge from some of the song titles alone, lyrical themes revolve largely around love, making love, women, a mythical creature on Black Shuck and probably the most, if not only, upbeat song about using heroin I’ve ever heard (Givin’ Up).

    With all the catchy, sing along moments and guitar solos combined with the fun loving, lively approach to both composition and performance, this is easily everything you’d want to hear on a rock album and doesn’t fail to deliver on anything.

    External Links:

    The Darkness Homepage
    The Darkness on Wikipedia | Permission to Land on Wikipedia
    The Darkness on Discogs | Permission to Land on Discogs

  • Andrew WK I Get Wet Review

    Artist: Andrew WK
    Album: I Get Wet
    Genre(s): Rock
    Subgenres(s): Hard Rock
    Released: 2001
    Length: 35 minutes
    Language(s): English
    Label(s): Island

    Track List:

    01. It’s Time to Party
    02. Party Hard
    03. Girls Own Love
    04. Ready to Die
    05. Take it Off
    06. I Love NYC
    07. She is Beautiful
    08. Party Til You Puke
    09. Fun Night
    10. Got to Do It
    11. I Get Wet
    12. Don’t Stop Living in the Red

    Andrew WK I Get Wet Cover

    Andrew WK I Get Wet Review

    I Get Wet is a short collection of non-stop, hyperactive party anthems by an extreme extrovert named Andrew WK, who draws stylistically from 80’s hard rock and the glam rock scene while fusing it with the speed and simplicity of punk rock. The average length of each song isn’t much over 3 minutes and most of them barely take a moment to slow down.

    The music is dominated by the guitar and has keyboard and piano lines playing alongside it with thumping hard rock drums not far behind, whereas the bass is pushed underneath all of this and you’ll have to listen intensely if you want even a small chance of hearing it. The album is accompanied by an overly sleek production style where everything is loud, fast and repetitive, leaving little space for variation. This might sound negative but when put into practice it has a surprisingly positive outcome, although it’s worth noting that this could have just as easily been the downfall of the album.

    Most of the lyrics are straight forward and are presented largely in the form of mantras and shout along anthems, all of which will get firmly lodged in your head for weeks after listening to them. Themes strongly revolve around partying to your last breath, women (Girls Own Love and She is Beautiful), motivation (Got to Do It and Don’t Stop Living in the Red) and more partying.

    There are two oddities that break away from the established formula for the lyrics. The first is about killing people in Ready to Die and the other is I Get Wet, which seems to have been written from a woman’s perspective but is barked non-stop almost entirely by Andrew WK for the duration of the song and you can’t possibly keep count of many times the title line is repeated. It does feature female vocals for the last part of the song, which are probably there to break up the snarling and yelling voices momentarily.

    At the end of the day I Get Wet is a big, loud, straight forward, over the top party album that lacks any form of subtlety where you don’t need to engage your brain but you will get hours of fun out of it so long as your tongue is planted firmly in your cheek.

    External Links:

    Andrew WK Homepage
    Andrew WK on Wikipedia | I Get Wet on Wikipedia
    Andrew WK on Discogs | I Get Wet on Discogs