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Bad Religion - New Maps of Hell (Deluxe)

Shook Ones' debut album, Sixteen, could easily be the lost Kid Dynamite album you never knew existed. If someone put this on and you didn't know any better, you would think it was a bunch of Kid Dynamite songs you've never heard. This isn't one of those so-called "influenced by Strike Anyhere / Avail / Kid Dynamite" pretender-to-the-hardcore throne bands. This is as close to the real deal as you're going to get outside a full-blown Kid Dynamite reunion.

Hailing from Bellingham, WA, they manage to ape KD's sound down right down to Jason Shevchuk's, before now, fairly unique delivery. While bands like the Curse (PA) and Trial By Fire (Wash., D.C.) were playing the same brand of melodic hardcore, and Shook Ones' labelmates the Disaster are firmly entrenched in the KD sphere of influence, Shook Ones are the first band to pick up the KD mantle and really run with it (including KD's own members' new projects). Jason's band None More Black strays beyond even the most poppy elements of KD's sound, while Yemin made the questionable call of taking over vocal duties (since his singers kept flaking on him) for his harder-edged new band Paint It Black.

Now, I really like None More Black and I would probably like Paint it Black a lot more if they got a real singer, but neither splinter groups add up to the sum of their parts together as Kid Dynamite. When I said Shook Ones ape KD's sound, I didn't mean that as a knock on them. They aren't a watered-down clone band. They strike me as having great potential (they made a nice jump in quality from their demo to the album, for instance) and this album is thoroughly enjoyable. In fact, the only knock I could see someone having on it is that it sounds too much like Kid Dynamite, which I think is just hating on it in principle and not on its own merits.

It is rare for a band to resemble some other, better band so closely and be interesting to me (I'm looking at you, Pennywise), but for whatever reason, Shook Ones make it work on this record. They mix up the catchy, poppy stuff with the anthemic hardcore in a mixture last done really well by, you guessed it, Kid Dynamite. I think Kid Dynamite did it better, for sure, and had some more interesting dynamics going on with their songs, but Shook Ones give me reason to believe they can get there too.

I don't know why their record label name-checks Jawbreaker; I don't hear that influence at all (except maybe via someone like Hot Water Music). This is pretty much straight up Kid Dynamite with maybe just a slight hint of Smoke or Fire vibe.

If you are a fan of any of these bands, I can't see any reason why this record won't totally kick your ass and be on your top 10 list for the year (unless you're just plain hatin' on them): Kid Dynamite, None More Black, Paint It Black, Lifetime, Trial by Fire, the Curse, the Disaster, Strike Anywhere, Rise Against, Jericho/Smoke or Fire, Panthro UK United 13, and/or Inquisition.



People who liked this also liked:
Kid Dynamite - Shorter, Faster, LouderKid Dynamite - Kid DynamitePaint It Black - ParadiseThe Loved Ones - Keep Your HeartOperation Ivy - Operation IvyLifetime - LifetimeJawbreaker - 24 Hour Revenge TherapyShook Ones - Facetious Folly FeatThe Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever ToldChampion - Promises Kept



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    Posted by floggingmurphy on 2006-12-27 20:28:11

    I see people leaving comments like "SO got closer to Lifetime than KD." Why do you think KD was trying to be like Lifetime? You make it out to sound like KD was jsut tryign to be a Lifetime band and didn't succed. Weird... I'm waiting to get this in the mail, but I do have Facetious Folly Feat and like it a lot. Can't wait to see these guys live.

    Posted by tapemarks_and_brakelights on 2006-06-08 13:43:25

    this album is awesome.

    and everyone should listen to "the next time i go" by sinking ships, because SO's vocalist is on there.

    Posted by etwiels88 on 2006-04-04 15:43:42

    Best band!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 2, 2005 at 8:27 AM (EDT)

    Score is for mentioning Kid Dynamite FIFTEEN times in the review.

    And, in my opinion, Paint It Black are way better than None More Black.

    PS So does this band sound like Kid Dynamite at all?

    Posted by danielXedge on 2005-09-01 20:59:23
    My Score:

    i really like this record!

    "panic" is one of the best 40 seconds in years

    Posted by bizzlebrizzle on 2005-07-03 22:14:39

    DAMMIT I WANT THIS ON VINYL!

    I'm gonna cancel the order from Interpunk and just wait until Endwell gets it in stock themselves.

    Posted by theownzenator on 2005-07-03 01:18:38

    I liked the review...but I'd have to disagree with you on the Yemin comment. That dude's voice rocks!

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 2, 2005 at 12:54 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    my score is for the disaster.

    also, i'm looking forward to hearing this record. they played here a week ago but i slept in and missed it.

    Posted by boba_fett on 2005-07-02 12:25:37

    "i think this is the first band brian has brought to my attention that is a truly great band that i wouldn't have heard about without the 'org. bravo."

    no trigger too. but id have to say that no trigger arent quite as good as these guys.

    Posted by boba_fett on 2005-07-02 12:23:32
    My Score:

    thanks to mp3 of the day im digging these guys. i gotta order their cd...

    but yeah, they cross kid dynamite and lifetime perfectly. the singer gets the gruff scratchy sound like jay had but he adds that warble/choking sounding thing that ari did so well. i still think that can't slow down is the closest anybody will ever get to sounding like lifetime, but these guys sound like lifetime and kid dynamite combined, which is like... double the kick of ass.

    but mr. reviewer sir; paint it black is really good. i wasnt into them at first either. then when paradise came out i gave them a second shot and now im loving them. you just have to be in the right pissed off mood when you first put it on, then you'll like it. guaranteed.

    as for none more black, i still love those guys and i love the way jay is taking them into a poppier area. it sounds chill.

    fuck i want this cd...

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, July 2, 2005 at 12:45 AM (EDT)

    "Shook Ones goes a lot closer to Lifetime than Kid Dynamite really ever did."

    That comment is right on target. When I heard the Shook Ones' mp3s, I kept switching back and forth from, 'Whoa, it's Kid Dynamite!' to 'Whoa, actually it's Lifetime pretending to be Kid Dynamite!'

    That may not make sense, but this band still kicks my ass. Or arse, if you prefer.

    Posted by dudehq on 2005-07-01 20:47:08
    My Score:

    i think this is the first band brian has brought to my attention that is a truly great band that i wouldn't have heard about without the 'org. bravo.

    Posted by corpseofmymotivation on 2005-07-01 17:47:14

    Everything is compared to Kid Dynamite these days. Somebody compared this band to Jawbreaker a little while ago too, which I found absolutely hilarious. They're pretty damn good though. Also, to set the record straight, Dan Yemin is an excellent vocalist.

    Posted by benz on 2005-07-01 12:14:25
    My Score:

    Yeah, I definetly thought of Lifetime when I heard this. Kid Dynamite comparisons are not off par though.

    -benz

    Posted by bizzlebrizzle on 2005-07-01 11:24:01

    That's cool!

    Your Pennywise comment made up for all that.

    Posted by southpawnation on 2005-07-01 10:56:24
    My Score:

    Yea, so usually I wouldn't bother responding to flamers and I don't want to engage in a lot of pointless back and forth that simply boils down to differing musical tastes, but I feel I should add some clarity to my review.

    1. While I may be an old, jaded asshole, I'm not an idiot kid who doesn't know his blink-182 from his stiff little fingers.

    2. Maybe the PIB vocal comment came off as more harsh than I intended. I'm a pretty sarcastic dude. Personally, I just don't find Yemin's vox particularly appealing on their own merits, not compared to JS's.

    3. I should have clarified that Shook Ones were the first band I've personally come across that do the KD thing well (and only as a direct result of punknews' mp3 of the day). Haven't heard the Backup Plan or Breathe In yet. I'm pretty hard to impress these days (after 15 years of listening to the punk rock, you have to know that you don't hear a lot of fresh takes on things all that often), and it takes a lot more than it used to for a band to pop up on my radar as worth checking out.

    4. This will probably open me up to more flaming and might be straight blasphemy, but I wasn't all that into Lifetime either so that's why I did not mention them specifically. I couldn't really remember how they compared to KD or this Shook Ones album.

    So, to sum up, if you want to judge whether this review is on the same page as your tastes, I'm basically a big KD fan and I like None More Black a lot. Not so much on Lifetime and Paint it Black.

    Yea, anyway, there ya go. Have at me, jackals.

    Posted by bizzlebrizzle on 2005-07-01 10:51:33

    I hope that Pennywise thing was a reference to how similar they are to Bad Religion!

    I told friends a while ago that they sounded a lot like Bad Religion and they all looked at me like I was crazy!

    Posted by bizzlebrizzle on 2005-07-01 10:20:54

    Reviewer also left out how Shook Ones goes a lot closer to Lifetime than Kid Dynamite really ever did.

    Breathe In is another band that has heavy KD influence.

    Posted by bizzlebrizzle on 2005-07-01 10:19:47

    This review sucks for disliking Dan Yemins vocals. Why isn't he a real singer asshole? His vocals are fucking awesome, pure rage! It fits the music Paint it Black plays so well.

    I still haven't gotten Sixteen, even though I ordered it about 2 or 3 weeks ago! Thank heaven for the vinyl still being on back-order!

    Posted by sickboi on 2005-07-01 09:42:45

    " I would probably like Paint it Black a lot more if they got a real singer"

    Wow, what an idiot. Dan Yemins voice is fucking intense. Just because he doesn't sound like Jay, doesn't mean he isn't a "real singer". God damn, some of you kids are just plain fucking retarded these days.

    Posted by Infrarecon on 2005-07-01 09:41:37

    I picked this up, its pretty good.

    Posted by johnnydanger on 2005-07-01 02:54:09

    great band.

    Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-07-01 00:48:58

    i would know....i would know.....

    maybe i wouldnt

    - jones the bones

    - stevejones8770@yahoo.com

    Posted by crazytoledo on 2005-07-01 00:45:06

    Sounds cool... Bad band name though...

    Posted by inagreendase on 2005-07-01 00:44:22
    My Score:

    Yeah, this album rules. Hard.

    The Backup Plan will always be the best KD ripoff in my books, but this band does it quite well, too, adding the requisite Lifetime influence. Plus, the lyrics are pretty non-clichéd for their genre, opting closer to Chris Conley somewhere between Can't Slow Down and Through Being Cool.

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