I could sum up this review in one word: in-fucking-credible. However, this would be unfair to anyone wanting even the smallest description of this CD.

Suckerpunch Training is a 3-track mini-cd released exclusively on the German label Join The Team Player. Included is a new song "suckerpunch training", a "rocket man" cover (yes, the Elton John song), and a spoken word track.

"Suckerpunch Training", (the song) is simply astounding. One of their heavier songs, yet not quite as heavy as songs like "After the Eulogy" and "The Force Majeure. Clocking in at over four minutes long, the song weaves in and out of different styles and timing. This song does deserve its own CD.

If you thought "rocket man" was a strange song for BSF to cover, you're not the only one. They don't turn it into a hardcore song, more of a mid-temp rock song. It does a great job of showcasing the band's talents, especially lead singer Nathan Gray (who I think has one of the best voices in punk/hardcore). The result is pretty good.

Finally, the spoken word track. Over three minutes long, Nathan Gray seems to wander all over the place with his ideas, but seems to effectively convey many of the bands ideals. There's nothing really ground breaking, and Nathan's no Noam Chomsky, but what makes it interesting, Nathan uses the band as an example to show his standpoint on democracy. It's presented in an interesting manner as well, over a sort of drum solo, which makes it an enjoyable listen.

They even got the packaging & liner notes on the CD right. The artwork is pretty cool and comes packaged in one of those thin cd-single cases. The CD itself is half-clear, like NOFX did for The Decline, but somehow it's cooler when Boy Sets Fire does it (just kidding, although I'm sure NOFX wasn't the first either).

Such a long review for such a short CD huh? Probably took you longer to read than it would to listen. All I can say is if you're a fan of BSF, you should have this. I'm not sure how easy it is to find in stores, in fact I've never seen it and mailordered mine. If you're interested in mailordering it, here's a few places to try:

Boy Sets Fire
Join The Team Player
Initial Records
Eldorado Music Distro
Death Wish Inc.