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 | 311From Chaos2001 Volcano 
  Review by: Nada Machine See others by this writer Only registered users can post comments 
 Published on July 15th 2001
Yeah, ok, I know 311 is a far cry from anything punk, but I felt that this album was an outstanding release and something needed to be said about it. 311 is the only non-punk band that I listen to, and that is because of their talent and emotion that really comes through on their songs. I feel that I can relate their releases to those of Rancid, who are probably one of the best punk rock groups out there today. Rancid, early in the 1990's, released their first Self-Titled cd, which pretty much summed up their talent and showed that they could thrash with the best. They followed with their breakthrough Let's Go! and the softer, more mainstream ...And Out Come the Wolves. Instead of selling out and recording a similiar sounding follow-up record, Rancid went with a slower, reggae sound on 1998's Life Won't Wait, and returned to their roots with the powerful sound of their second Self-Titled release in 2000. I feel that I can directly relate 311's past albums the same way as Rancid's. In the early 1990's 311 released their debut Music and followed up on it with 1994's Grassroots, which openly defined the 311 sound. A year later, they recorded their Self-Titled 311 which broke them into the mainstream. But instead of rehashing their sounds to continue their popularity, they went with a slower, more reggae-sounding approach on 1997's Transistor and 1999's Soundsystem, before returning to their roots on From Chaos. This Album starts with the upbeat You Get Worked and follows into the lightning-fast Sick Tight before launching into their new single, You Wouldn't Believe. The next two songs, Full Ride and From Chaos, I am kinda impartial to, but they lead into my favorite track off the cd, I Told Myself, an excellent song about controlling your urges and not making a mistake you would regret. The seventh song, Champagne, is a mellow song that is excellent but unfortunately misplaced as it precedes two of the fastest cuts on the album, Hostile Apostle and Wake Your Mind Up, which really pull from their classic early 90's sound. The tenth song on the album is Amber, a beautiful song that grooves and follows into another slower cut, Uncalm, before finishing the record off with an excellent song about maturing with your music, I'll Be Here Awhile. Overall, even though this is not a punk release, it is an amazing disc and one that I would hope you would all listen to with open ears and an open mind. People who liked this also liked:           Please login or register to post comments. What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
i couldnt agree more with this last comment. 311 has and always will be open to ANY fan, regardless what they dress like or listen to. And as for the band itself, they are extremely talented and i love their fusion of several different genres. Their amazing messages of positivity and unity have helped me to turn my life in a different direction. Besides, there is so much negative music out there--its about time the kids get some positive vibes. I've been a fan for eight years now, and i've loved every minute. Oh, and if you havent yet, see them live. Its an amazing experience, even next to spiritual if you're already a fan. oh,and to the elitest saying 'teenyboppers stay away', chill out man, 311 don't care who listnes to their music, so long as they are tolerant and open minded. if you listen to avril or b2k and are tolerant and open, all is well. if you judge people on their hair and dress style, maybe you should re-examine yourself. whats worse, an open teenybopper wanting to get into good music, or a judgemental 'i discovered them first' elitest? new album july 24 "evolver" keep your eye open...they're gettin ready to drop their 7th full lenght LP. can't wait for that shit. lets do the list of the good 311 songs: no amount of words can do justice to 311...CHAD SEXTON is the BEST DRUMMER, TIM MAHONEY is the BEST GUITAR player and nobody and i mean nobody can touch P-NUT. 311 HAS NEVER AND WILL NEVER EVER DISSAPPOINT THE FANS and thats' why 311 has one of the MOST LOYAL FAN BASES EVER. can't say enough good stuff about 311 you can say what you want about 311 but these guys have been rocking it out longer than most bands out there its impossible to compare them to limp biskit. limp biskit sux my ass im from there home town i should know all about how much they suck . This cd tends to be a stoner album but hey whats wrong with that and plus these guys are amazing musicians so a big fuck you to all of you that are to punk for this band -mark- who cares if its punk or not? its good. listen to whatever you like and if anyone gives you shit for it kick there fucking ass for being such a stupid little bitch. By the why this is a very good cd, just like all 311's other cds. shocked to see a 311 reveiw out here, but to be honest, i consider them more punk than most 'punk' bands. not musically, but in lyrical attitude. they are so positive,tolerant,w/ songs about being yourself, unity, relationships,etc. this album is dope. so many styles.reggae, hip hop, rock, funk.brillant lyrics, SA and nick can both rap and sing, w/ distinct voices. chad is the best drummer out there, travis comes close though. pnut is fuckin amazing on bass.so good.these guys are very down to earth. forget their breif encounters w/ the mainstream.my fav. band ever, although one of the few non-punk bands i listen too.beutiful album, my favorite of 2001, beating out alk3,saves the day,dashboard, adn even thursday in my opinion.thursday comes close. yeah... 311 was the first band i ever really got into, before anything, there was 311 to me... 311 is sacred, always has been, and always will be my favorite band, and this album is definatly, definatly worthy to be in my collection... its been, about 6 years now, and i still cant get enough of them... and i guess i'm not the only one to see the same type of progression between 311 and rancid... finally someone else points it out... 311 on a punk site? cool enough i guess... and they DO mention NoFX in one of their songs (Come Original). 311 is one on my favorite non-punk bands, but this CD, in my opinion, isn't their best work. My absolute favorite 311 CD is their very first release "Music". I was going through all my old, "pre-punk" Cd's the other day, and the only ones I still listen to are this and Incubus. It's been a steady decline from their first album. Still, compared to most mainstream crap... it's pretty refreshing to hear them. 311 is the only non punk/hardcore band i listen to as well. I dont quite know what it is about them....just gets me away from punk sometimes, Because after listening to punk for 11 years i found that a lot of the bands are just trying to be like one another...Im giving up on the new school punk in general, Its all the same...which refers to 311's song from soundsystem "come original" that song rings sooo true and many of these bands today should take advice from it. i hate 311 always have. they licked on warped tour...sorry for the negativity but they rub me the wrong way. 311 is a great band that i've listened to long before i started listening to punk. anyway this album is incredible and i'm glad to see people respecting this truly great band, especially on a punk site. 311 is definitely one of the best non-punk, mainstream bands there is. They have a unique sound and they have good lyrics/messages in their songs. To tell you the truth, they are punker than blink 182, at least they dont have their own honda paintjob. good band, but what the hell, comparing them to rancid is dumb. It doesnt tell me anything about the new album saying that the 311 albums and the rancid albums both follow a similar progression, that was really stupid, just talk about the damn album in a reveiw, thats what i read them for independance day is a good song, but pretty much everything else sucks. i will give them credit for being better than most all the rest of the hard rap out there(limp biscuit).- fathead I like 311, but lets not compare them to Rancid, k? :) Ugh, not to be a dick, but I hate 311. Too wanna-be-Beastie-Boy-ish for me. And that dude's voice gets on my damn nerves. Reminds me of that early 90's white rapper "Snow". Very good review, it's nice to see someone supporting this great band. I respect them not only for musicianship but also for the positive message. |
