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 | MinusHalldor Laxness2003 Victory 
 Review by: FortyMinutesWest See others by this writer ![[staff]](/images/icons/staffsticker.gif){kind=icon}
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Published on June 17th 2003 Something is wrong with Victory Records and I don’t know how to fix it, but this might be a good way to start. “Halldor Laxness” is the follow up to 2001’s “Jesus Christ Bobby” (which may be the greatest album title ever.) and the band’s progression since then is fairly impressive. While “Jesus Christ Bobby” wasn’t a bad album, this release is a lot better. From the very beginning Minus puts together an enjoyable mix of hardcore, punk, and rock. Vocalist Krummi splits his time between screams, standard rock n roll singing, and some eerie, spacey vocals. A lot of bands like this fall into the trap of complacency, but Minus changes things up enough to steer clear of that common pit fall. I’m not usually a sucker for hooks, but I’ll be damned if these guys can’t write some really catchy music. Between the frantic, off-kilter guitar playing, the band seems to be sitting back a bit and building an atmosphere. But with all the positives about this album, there is also a downside. Minus seems to get confused as to where they want to go with a song sometimes, and as a result it doesn’t end up developing or going anywhere. Some of the tracks, especially the last song “Last Leaf Upon The Tree” come off sounding a little pretentious or a little too overtly artsy. It’s almost as if they’re saying “look at us, we’re going to make a spacey, somewhat inaccessible song, people will think it’s brilliant.” However, it falls short because there’s no intensity, urgency, or drive in this song. This band is at its best when they’re relentlessly wailing away on their instruments at a frantic pace. Lyrically it’s either hit or miss. Sometimes they make me cringe, like in the song “Insomniac”: “I can’t close my eyes, I wait for my demise.” Other times I’m impressed with their word play, like in the song “My Name Is Cocaine”: “My name is cocaine, call me coke for short, I came into this country without a passport.” I’m not too big on anti-drug songs, but this one is well written and doesn’t stray into to realm of being overly preachy. I’d recommend this to fans of older Deftones stuff or maybe even At The Drive In. But if you’re going into this expecting the next ATDI you’re going to be really disappointed. Minus is a band with potential, and this album is a step in the right direction, but it’s nothing spectacular either. Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
Actually you are an idiot. Is it the simple fact that this rock scares you? Because this band is good. This band is good for my erection. Me like. You hate. You bad. Fuck you. actually i hate this band. they suck. really bad. i mean, come on. what the fuck i hate this cd I just listened to that song and it doesn't sound anything like you guys have said. all i can really say is 18 visions - vanity. why are hardcore bands all turning into gravy mouth bands (creed, godsmack) I saw minus live a few weeks ago and i just find his singing terrible. the stuff they played off jesus christ bobby was great, i love that album, the song they played from there first cd wasnt even that bad. I dont know if all these hardcore bands are trying to sell more records by laying the cheesey godsmack stuff on thick or if they actually like creed and godsmack. well thats my two cents People i think you are all missing the point here. I think the cover design is pretty good but i think that eyeball desperately needs some visine. There are Count the Stars fans? This album was a big let-down... All the skitzo screaming and brutal hardcore is replaced more mainstream Deftones-ish rock with your token airy singing... My two cents. I was expecting something as harsh if not more harsh than JKB. Maybe they are trying to sell some records to the Count the Stars fans... "Jesus Christ Bobby" is one of my favorite albums ever. I still haven't heard this, but I can't wait. It sounds as if this one isn't as insane as the last one, but my hopes are still high. Weird. I just heard about them for the first time last night. I saw an ad for them in the new AP and last night I tried to download their songs. I still can't find any, but now i'll have to look harder. I might have to check this album out... "jesus christ bobby" was a hit or miss record. i don't want to list all the songs i think were good on the last album but there were a couple that just scream into mind looking for my brain to respond which it didn't. i'll give this release a good listen all because the reviewer said it was better than their last album. Minus could be a great band, they just have to cross that finish line. Oh yeah, the cover art is really weird. There's something weird about multiple closeups of eyeballs. |
