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 | PennywiseThe Fuse2005 Epitaph 
  Review by: Joe See others by this writer Pennywise site (link) Only registered users can post comments 
 
Published on August 9th 2005
If ever there was a band who believe in the mentality of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," it's definitely Pennywise. Ever since their self-titled debut they've stuck rigidly to playing rapid-fire skate punk and seemingly not really caring whether people like it or not. Album number eight The Fuse is therefore going to please ardent fans of the band, whereas the detractors will most likely remain unimpressed by the 15 tracks on offer here.
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This is a very good album. Not as good as about time, but still a great listening. "So you just give up, yeah u just give in, u go to sleep and dream at night of the life that might have been" - look who u are This album sounded like Pennywise's last album... Which sounded like the album before that... Which sounded like the album before that... Whcih sounded like the album before that... this album really sucks. btw, the mars volta are pretty damn amazing. pennywise could never match them. I was pretty disappointed by this album. This review was menial and rudimentary. pennywise are better musicians than 99.99999% percent of all punk bands. It's not thier best but I don't think they put too much heart into it at all. From the Ashes was a great Cd. It was a change, so fuck your ass. wow i get a kick outta these comments... people still seek attention in punknews. they come here to talk garbage and probably wait for a comment back... that's good, or rather how sad... Just to clarify that I hate The Mars Volta, my point was that if you want complex music, listen to them. I'm aware how strange this may sound, but this is my favorite Pennywise release. It culminates various styles they've adopted over the years, ranging from the energetic Fox TV to the hardcore crunching Stand Up to the slower, more straightforward Lies. True, it's nothing groundbreaking from Pennywise, but the variety keeps me entertained more than previous PW releases. The best PW record since the incredible Full circle! That's it and fuck critics! From a long time PW fan: I fucking hate this CD. It's a joke. For a band that once had so much passion, energy and creativity, this disc stands as not even a shell of their former self. These songs are so pathetic, cookie-cutter, if it wasn't for Jim's voice, I would have guessed this was some shitty new band trying to emulate the old PW sound. Let me start off by saying what the fuck are u trying to do by comparing PW to the mars volta 1. the mars volta is not punk so why r u comparing 2. the mars volta sucks....bad.....real bad The Fuse may not be as good as previous Pennywise albums, but it's still pretty damn good. Go do yourself a favor, and listen to homosexual The Mars Volta with your penis hanging out with your preppy drunk ass hip hop lovin friends. What the fuck? No breakdowns?? That makes me want to smash some brains!! "I can't believe how many pathetic little "punk rock" bitches are on this site." I can't believe how many pathetic little "punk rock" bitches are on this site. ""Eat my fucking shit. All of you." ""Eat my fucking shit. All of you." "Eat my fucking shit. All of you." "I got a new name for JonestheBones, it's donkey fuck, there now it fell into your lap. Use it sheepboy!!" "So you HAVE to keep it? What a fucking lemming! You suck JonahtheBonah!!!" I got a new name for JonestheBones, it's donkey fuck, there now it fell into your lap. Use it sheepboy!! "...(blah blah blah) the name fell into my lap...." 'Jones the bones is gay and takes it up the ass from fletcher. Her-bro-sa beach sucks.' Jones the bones is gay and takes it up the ass from fletcher. Her-bro-sa beach sucks. ""mad gay" Fuck pennywise "mad gay" "Jones the Bones has now shown us that he's surpassed Chinatown as the biggest fag ever!" Jones the Bones has now shown us that he's surpassed Chinatown as the biggest fag ever! he must be heterophobic. ""What a fag" its pennywise. if you like them, you'll like it. if you don't, you won't. its better than from the ashes, but not even close to full circle. "What a fag" The more I listen to it, the more I like it. My cousin gave it to me about two months ago and I only listened to it twice until it came out. Since Tuesday I gather that I've listened to it four times, and it keeps getting better. The production isn't as bland, the songwriting is still moving back to the Full Circle era high, and the message is still strong. score is for the clown. he didn't always do the same shit over and over and say "your demise" or "land of the free" a million times. Hey Bro, this is some rad shit man. Bro, lets get that keg and TAPPPP IT. I mean tap that girl when she gets super drunk, bro. "You people are so dumb, I can get your panties in a knot with only one line that takes a whopping 10 seconds to type. Don't say I have too much time on my hands, as I am sure your responces took longer than that." we're not Brazil, we're Northern Ireland but it's all the same to me...... Lawrie Sanchez' green and white army! Fuse not great, not bad "You people are so dumb, I can get your panties in a knot with only one line that takes a whopping 10 seconds to type. Don't say I have too much time on my hands, as I am sure your responces took longer than that." ""Pennywise doesn't even deserve to chew on my farts" You people are so dumb, I can get your panties in a knot with only one line that takes a whopping 10 seconds to type. Don't say I have too much time on my hands, as I am sure your responces took longer than that. ""Pennywise doesn't even deserve to chew on my farts" "Earth to 12 year old boy, punk is dead" "Pennywise doesn't even deserve to chew on my farts" Anyone get the new Marathon cd?? I can't stop listening to it..........it's soooooooo good........ "At least Pennywise is punk, half the bands on this site are not. Pennywise deserves to be talked about here whether you love 'em or hate 'em. Hot Hot Heat & Mars Volta shouldn't be." "At least Pennywise is punk, half the bands on this site are not. Pennywise deserves to be talked about here whether you love 'em or hate 'em. Hot Hot Heat & Mars Volta shouldn't be." At least Pennywise is punk, half the bands on this site are not. Pennywise deserves to be talked about here whether you love 'em or hate 'em. Hot Hot Heat & Mars Volta shouldn't be. i love their cover of Stand By Me "News Flash to who ever wrote this reply....growing up in the south bay and going to school at mira costa where these guys are from you will soon learn that it is in fact all the trend and the "trendy jerks" and jocks are the guys who buy their albums and goto their shows around here. Get a clue. Your just like everyone else." ....and 18 ways to say stand up, which were burned out 3 albums ago. all of the slow songs i can do without, but overall its pretty solid. they should write songs like they did on "pennywise" and not take such strong political opinions into the music. honestly who gives a fuck. "News Flash to who ever wrote this reply....growing up in the south bay and going to school at mira costa where these guys are from you will soon learn that it is in fact all the trend and the "trendy jerks" and jocks are the guys who buy their albums and goto their shows around here. Get a clue. Your just like everyone else." "2003's From The Ashes" Meh. It's decent, but nothing great. I actually prefer From the Ashes. Not many people liked it, but compared to other recent releases, FTA was the most unique. Sort of. Here's a follow-up to the Jawbreaker/NCAA 06 topic. There's a new add for K Mart featuring the Wynona Riders cover of "Kids in America." This is faster and has more energy than "From the Ashes" "Your lives are meaningless blah blah blah.." Look at this, I started a minor web riot. Your lives are meaningless if this is what you have to argue about. The averaged score for Mars Volta and Pennywise. steve jone's comment about being cool only if you hated on PW after 'unknown road' was hilarious I promised myself a long time ago that I would only come here to read the reviews and news and would avoid the comments. Goddammit! Why do I keep reading this stupid shit?! "And to add to what Anchors said, if artwork and stuff on records is shit, i don't see why people don't just download all their music. Blehblehblehbleh! I'm Fletcher, I'm fat! So gimme some candy! Blehblehblehbleh! ohhh i get it! the fuse of lennywise lkeads to a shitload of punk rawk dynamite! or its like omg a dynamite of discontent with da SYZTM!!!!!11!!!1!!!! The best part about the cover is how it doesn't make sense. Why would a spark only emit light in a single direction? I hate everything. "Anchors & Crooked Superhero have got to be 2 of the biggest douchebags on the planet. Why not just collect paintings then. Artwork is meaningless. Also, it seems more & more people nowadays ARE downloading their music from the internet." If artwork is meaningless, why do bands do it at all? Fuck man, why don't they just sell their albums on blank cdr's in clear jewel cases! Anchors & Crooked Superhero have got to be 2 of the biggest douchebags on the planet. Why not just collect paintings then. Artwork is meaningless. Also, it seems more & more people nowadays ARE downloading their music from the internet. And to add to what Anchors said, if artwork and stuff on records is shit, i don't see why people don't just download all their music. An album should be a complete package. Obviously the music is by far the most important aspect, but that doesn't mean bands should just not give a fuck what the cover art looks like, and what's in the liner notes. My score is for anyone who judges music by the cover art. I think more bands should put in to their music what they waste on album art. Also, Pennywise is awesome, as is Lennywise. Listening to it now. I was kinda scared this would turn into a disaster, but let's face it.. PW is a great fucking band and they've once again managed to create a great album. Nothing can be compared to Full Circle, so stop comparing. These guys have been around to long to call this record bad. They keep making music and people keep buying their records for one simple reason, Pennywise provide, fans of the genre (PW especially) get what they are looking for in a band. there must be a reason for this, eh? Pennywise is an awsome punkrock band! Come on, bro.....You gotta admit that it's pretty uhh...bland. I guess that's the word for it. "the coverart is lame as fuck" Yay, it's a pennywise record, something to listen to if I'm in the mood for Pennywise. What sucks is that even if they tried to change things up now it would just sound silly, there would be a plethora of "what the fuck is this?" and "this doesn't sound like pennywise!" "Ah, my eye, I'm not supposed to get coins in it!!!" perhaps the most meaningful comment that could be made about pennywise is that in the comments of the review of their latest release, a number of people seem to be concerned about a band that no longer exists and a college football video game. this is insane. pennywise why? i cant even bring myself to comment thouroughly. but even the review is writen by a fan, and it still gets 3 stars. who is going to buy another mediocre pennywise album? this is embarrassing. As one of those kids who hasn't listened to Pennywise since About Time, I need to ask: If everyone who likes Pennywise is OK with them playing the same stuff on every album, then what was so bad about "From the Ashes"? THE PIETASTERS ARE ON WHAT??? Fox Tv is a great song. i can see how a band would be on a video game but not be on mtv "dude, pennywise is sick, brah!" NOFX being on the soundtrack doesn't suprise me that much. They had a song on one of the Tony Hawk games a couple years ago, remember. The context may be a little different, but really....it's not. regarding ncaa 06, i was really surprised about a NOFX song (jeff wears birkenstocks no less!) on the soundtrack. they won't show a video on mtv, but they will contribute a song to a video game? intruiging. dude, pennywise is sick, brah! Yeah, NCAA 06's use of Jawbreaker is kind of disturbing (although it makes the soundtrack more listenable), but no more disturbing than their inclusion of NOFX, Lagwagon, MTX, Bad Religion and the Pietasters. ain't nothing wrong with some Pennywise. What's to say that already hasn't been said? This review and debate is pointless... but I do have to say that although Straight Ahead was too long, it did have some amazing songs. i havent listened to pennywise in ages. i dont think i ever got past the s/t and unknown road...i think by the time About Time came out i already thought it was too much of the same. Listening to this now. One of their best, imo. This is rather simple to break down kiddies. "so when a band changes their sound, everyone bitches like a skirt. but when a band doesn't change their sound....everyone....bitches...wait I'm confused." so when a band changes their sound, everyone bitches like a skirt. but when a band doesn't change their sound....everyone....bitches...wait I'm confused. Sickboi, do you have a Linkin Park tape? I got an offical demo tape from them a few years ago when I bought a CD of E-bay (I didn't listen to it for months figured how shitty is a band that sends out a demo with another CD). But it's an offical tape (as in from the label with a paper sleeve) but its only got two tracks. You got something similar? 'If you knew how to correlate analogies, maybe your opinion would have some value. As is, I'm afraid not. Let me know when you grow out of your Internet Punk Critic phase and learn that you don't matter.' 'If you knew how to correlate analogies, maybe your opinion would have some value. As is, I'm afraid not. Let me know when you grow out of your Internet Punk Critic phase and learn that you don't matter.' "That's like saying that a stupid kid in math who fails every test should get 90% just because you like the way he draws the number 5. Jesus christ you kids are dumb... out of the punk police phase and now into the 'i respect everything, yay unity and penis!' phase you are." Worth downloading, but not worth buying. Well, at least Pennywise have stuck to their guns over the year, unlike some bands I've been ripping on today. "wow not much changes in 10 years.....in high school i was pretty much the only person that loved skate punk and pennywise (unknown road, was my soundtrack against all u trendy jerks) and now in 2005 i still love pennywise.......from the ashes rules........one thing to note.....to all who say they outgrew this shit........good go away we don't need ya......find the newest trend and call it home" "This is a very solid album, and many of the tracks are even a little different from the standard Pennywise sound. Personally, if you like an album, I don't see anything wrong with giving it a good score even if it's not so different from the majority of the artist's works." This hasn't been mentioned in the past 2 minutes, but this is simply some of the worst cover art ever concieved. It rivals the boxart for the original Mega Man game. Pennywise need to pack it in already. "I want to support these guys simply because they're not the "white belt mafia," but I have to acknowledge the fact that they've gone stale after all these years." I want to support these guys simply because they're not the "white belt mafia," but I have to acknowledge the fact that they've gone stale after all these years. DooP a DooP With a ScooP of PooP on a LooP. by the way, there's my score. This is a very solid album, and many of the tracks are even a little different from the standard Pennywise sound. Personally, if you like an album, I don't see anything wrong with giving it a good score even if it's not so different from the majority of the artist's works. I think a fairer review score would be a 5. It's an average record but for fans it will obviously be worth more. Shouldn't the fan have to tack their opinion onto the score rather than the newcomer/objective observer have to subtract for fan bias? He didn't have any more. But a pal of mine has it, I can prolly get him to burn you a copy. Its really good. A tape? That's some impressive stuff, i must say. Crooky- "wow not much changes in 10 years.....in high school i was pretty much the only person that loved skate punk and pennywise (unknown road, was my soundtrack against all u trendy jerks) and now in 2005 i still love pennywise.......from the ashes rules........one thing to note.....to all who say they outgrew this shit........good go away we don't need ya......find the newest trend and call it home" Yo sickboi, if this is it, keep track: id rather listen to pennywise, because of the fact that theyve kept their sound the same, rather than bowing to trends. strung out, anyone? So what if they are on the NCAA 06 soundtrack, I'd rather hear that then some shit like Linkin Park....which reminds me... at first listen i thought this was their worst by far but after listening for about a month, this disc is far above from the ashes and land of the free and almost as good as striaght ahead but nowhere near the quality of unkown road and about time. pennywise isnt trying to get better...which is the sad part. "Went in to the living room, someone was blasting Zeppelin. Sounded good, felt ashamed, I knew every drum fill." wow not much changes in 10 years.....in high school i was pretty much the only person that loved skate punk and pennywise (unknown road, was my soundtrack against all u trendy jerks) and now in 2005 i still love pennywise.......from the ashes rules........one thing to note.....to all who say they outgrew this shit........good go away we don't need ya......find the newest trend and call it home By the way: is anyone else disturbed to hear Jawbreaker on the soundtrack to NCAA 06? It's Electronic Art's college football game. They used "Bad Scene, Everybody's Fault." By the way: is anyone else disturbed to hear Jawbreaker on the soundtrack to NCAA 06? by the way... i'm gay... If ever there was a band who believe in the mentality of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it," it's definitely Pennywise. Am I the only one that didn't hate "From the Ashes". I agree it wasn't their best effort, but in my opinnion it was miles above the simplicity of "Land Of the Free". Sickboi - it's definitely a step above From The Ashes. Better songwriting, and the production is not nearly as stale. They really mailed it in on From The Ashes, and the new one much more interesting. This has been a major disappointment for me, as bad as "From the Ashes." Aubin- 'full circle' is one of my favorite punk albums of all time and was one of the soundtracks to my sophmore summer in highschool... A solid release. Obviously people who think they always sound the same aren't going to be happy because you'll hear what you want to hear, but there is enough solid songwriting and playing with the style to make it interesting. ""pw are still way fucking better than most bands out there "From the Ashes" was god awful. It was the first PW album I didn't buy. This will prolly be the second. Awesome release, as always. I can't wait to pick this one up at lunch. Fuck the haters. Awesome album, its good to see the guys 'try' and mix things up a little with the sounds on a few of the tracks. Though overall the standard straight ahead skatepunk blasts that Pennywise fans are used to work the best. Though suprisingly for me one of my favourite tracks is probably the slowest P.W song yet, 'Lies'. Overall its most comparable to Straight Ahead though with a darker tone about it. "Come on kids, theres arent any "GOOD" or "BAD" Albums out there... Its pennywise everyone and i actually think this is some of their better work in some time-oldpunker- Come on kids, theres arent any "GOOD" or "BAD" Albums out there... Im always really bummed by the thrashing pw gets everytime they release a new album. I have always loved the band and enjoyed all their efforts. Granted some of my favorite bands are from the fat/epitaph category. Nofx, lag,pw, strung out, rise against, anti flag. But to me that sound that gets regurgitated throughout these bands albums is not boring its just punk rock. I'm not saying that there is anything extraordinarily different in these albums but hey its punk. Punk to me is that pw sound of beating drums fast fuckin guitars and bottom line the one reason why punk is cool the lyrics. I just think that all the horse shit we hear today that gets labeled as punk rock is a joke. I know what punk is like to a lot of us and honestly it doesnt get more punk than pw or bad religion playin the same four fuckin chords over and over but progressing with amazing lyrics. So hey fuck you..no one ever said these guys were the stones they are what they are..u either like it or u dont...punk is not for everyone this album is gonna rock so fucking hard. i only have to wait less than 3 hours! PW for Life! Shouldn't Fletcher be dead by now? I like PW as much as the next guy (which actually isn't saying much here), but has their been one PW album since Full Circle that hasn't had at least....4-5 songs of filler? Everyone goes through thier "Pennywise phase" in highschool, and I think I'm well past mine. I like it. It's not their best, it's not their worst. It's just Pennywise. FOX TV is an awesome song. this sounds like a pennywise cover album, performed by pennywise Suicide Machines got an 8 All I needed to read was "if it's not broke, don't fix it," and now I know not to go buy this album. PW, it's not broken, but it's pretty damn stale now. I think it's their worst album to go along with my last comment (sorry) I agree with the sticking to a formula comment. I have (and I guess still do) loved Pennywise for a long time and must say they are an awesome live band. However, the slight (and I do mean slight) changes over time are not enough to keep real solid interest. I feel they could have taken the best songs from there last three or four albums and had one album that could possibly beat their mid-90's work. However, most of the tracks lack the urgency and emmotion of that work. about time came out when i was 12 or 13, i already owned a word from the wise and the self titled (not unknown road yet, which i think is their best) , and i bought it the day it came out This score is for The New Lows...FUCK PITCHFORK The same record. Remixed and Remastered. Why the hell is this band still making albums? Throw in the towel, you made some great records....stop flogging a dead horse. |
