Music needs not always be a transcendental experience; it rarely is. Nor does it need to seek lofty goals of manufacturing art via a unique sound and/or attention-grabbing messages of society, politics and the like. Sometimes we’re in it just for a good time. Heavy metal and punk thrive on this—some go for statements, most just go for the throat. Plastic pop is the same way, and let’s not forget disco (no matter how much we might want to). Heck, most of mainstream radio is full of cliché-ridden power ballads, vapid dance tracks and lifeless and generic party anthems. Kids are force fed “education” in school. When class is over, it’s time to turn off the brains.
With brains on neutral, Sound and Fury may be a decent choice. They’ve already been labeled AC/DC meets the Misfits elsewhere, and the description is apt, but also with a few dashes of Motorhead, the Stooges, the Ramones, Thin Lizzy and any number of (mostly better) hard rock acts. Nothing on their self-titled debut can match the best of those other bands, but with precious few exceptions (obviously, the short-lived and untouchable Stooges), none of those same groups can claim career consistency. Back in Black, Ace of Spades, early Ramones LPs…all great efforts, to be sure, but each group also has just as many (if not more) duds as winners. Blame it on repetition, I suppose, since none of them evolved their sound much at all during their long tenure. Ignoring the Ramones' brief near-metal phase, the closest may be Iggy Pop who, once removed from the Stooges, mixed things up a bit along the way for better or worse.
Sound and Fury rely on the standard three chord pyrotechnics to get things done. The only variety comes from the tempo—it’s frequently fast but does take the occasional mid-tempo dirge break. Much of the running time is closer to the torn-to-pieces fury of early 80s West Coast punk than to the slightly more controlled and menacing rumble rock of crotch rockers that hit it big in the late 70s. The fuel that powers this machine is sweat, sex, anger and attitude. But the best of punk typically dealt with youth angst and social upheaval. The best of swaggering hard rock was dominated by powerful roof-burning riffs and bottom heavy hooks so fluid they seemed to erupt straight from the band members' tight denim and leather dungarees. This band has no discernable message and the guitars, while amped to 11, rarely do anything that truly catches you so steadfastly that it’s impossible not to bob your head along to it.
“I got the bad touch that feels so good,” declares frontman, Luke Metcalf. “Tell all the girls in your neighborhood/I got the bad touch that feels so right/I’m gonna make you burn tonight.” Any less sophisticated than AC/DC? Of course not, but it’s the journey and not the statement that makes Back in Black a perfect barroom album. There’s no denying that Sound and Fury can tap into the primal essence of rock and roll, but delivering isn’t guaranteed. The always-chugging guitars dominate every note, and the dual attack of Griffin and Coppins, while lacking many particularly memorable turns, rarely fails to reach the fever pitch. As for Metcalf, he has the high-reaching, essentially toothless voice found in almost every good time metal outfit, but it doesn’t fit with the faster, more punk-ish tracks and reminds us too much of mid-80s spandex rock when they slow things down a beat. Trying it both ways might not be the wisest decision. After all, don’t most punks and metalheads hate each other’s music?
This certainly wouldn’t be the first band to stick to their guns while embracing their musical heroes. And if there’s something lacking in today’s modern music climate, it’s good hard rock bands. But in picking apart their inspirations, they seem to have forgotten that it’s a thin line between old school classics and the endless morass of been-there-done-that yawn rock. Sound and Fury needs to breathe new life into the old workhouse; they’ll leave few bored but even fewer astonished. Maybe I’ve been spoiled by the untouchable skill and grinding grooves of Queens of the Stone Age, but this album didn’t make me want to get up and throw limbs around too much.
When priming the old sound for a new age, there needs to be an angle. With the Darkness aping 80s hair metal, they knew a layer of cheese was inevitable and kept their tongues firmly in cheek. Wolfmother couldn’t sound more like a hybrid of Sabbath and Zeppelin if they tried, but more than half the cuts on their debut worked because of the tenacity of their performance. Sound and Fury do little to distinguish themselves from other party rockers like Andrew W.K. and Tower of London—rock, yes, but also dumb as one. Sound and Fury’s inability to frequently grab ahold of the essence of that catchy swagger that made those late 70s/early 80s bands popular is the chief failure of this album.
It’s not a total loss, though. “Teenage Rampage” does what a lot of faceless pop-punk bands miss out on (including current tour partners, the oft-risible Sum 41): delivering a catchy chorus without sacrificing intensity. “Runaway Love” features the vintage fast and repeating riffs of the Ramones. And closer, “Hellhound,” finally mixes things up with a bottom-dwelling beast riff that has a sinister edge lacking elsewhere on the album (Metcalf lowers his voice to a growl on the verses; maybe he should keep it there). On the other hand, “High School Hotbox” is too reminiscent of groups like Motley Crue and Twisted Sister, territory that wasn’t fun the first time out, and “Supercharged” mixes sub-human behemoth rock with the echoing chants of old-school Kiss, territory that may even be worse.
The audience for this sort of album will probably disagree emphatically with my reaction. Less discerning fans of old-fashioned, balls-to-the-walls rock n’ roll may indeed have a rollicking good time. And I won’t deny that Sound and Fury have the fundamentals down; they’re just missing the extra punch needed to turn the primitive into a powerhouse. It’s a mildly promising debut full-length, but Sound and Fury only hints at future success. In the meantime, it’ll collect dust alongside the forgettable fare of the band’s heroes. There’s a reason why I haven’t spun Pleasant Dreams or For Those About to Rock in quite some time.
"Sound and Fury" is on sale June 24, 2008 from Rebel Youth.
