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Epitaph Records -- Millencolin

With 14 songs over 12 minutes, this one was over before I got back to my desk. Say Goodbye, the latest offering from Assholeparade, serves to hold fans over until they get their hands on a new full-length set for release this Fall.

Recorded with different lineups between 1997-1998, Say Goodbye hardly sounds as dated as it could have. Their brand of brutally fast, hard, grind/hardcore comes off surprisingly polished, which can probably be attributed to Rob McGregor’s production role. Drummer Jon W. comes off as the standout musician on the record, which showcases how tight and fast he’s able to play. That said, this music isn’t exactly the most accessible on the market. Fans of Assholeparade’s previous work or others like them will love Say Goodbye, but it’s hard to see them winning over a lot of new fans with this release. Then again, accessibility is no way to judge the quality of a record. Assholeparade may not be for everyone, and is certainly an acquired taste, but what they do, they do really well.

Another aspect of the record that makes one think it may have been recorded later than it was is the anti-war sentiment of the tracks "Soldiers" and "Soldiers II," both of which could be applied as commentary on America’s current war in Iraq. Lines such as “Another life is gone / And we’ll win this war with tearless eyes / Where the survivors envy the dead" from "Soldiers," or “The stench is ripe and teenage kids are forced to fight / names are written and stitched to backs because you won’t recognize their faces after the enemy fucking attacks / In human trenches plagued with flies / You tell your friends your last goodbyes / The army is crippled as it digs in for death / The government wins / But the soldier is fucking dead” from "Soldiers II" are great reminders that important and thoughtful messages can still come out of music that on the surface is ridiculously aggressive.



People who liked this also liked:
Poison the Well - VersionsThe Hope Conspiracy - Death Knows Your NameThe Holy Mountain - EnemiesEnvy - Insomniac DozeI Would Set Myself on Fire for You - Believes in PatternsSet Your Goals - Mutiny!Be Your Own Pet - Be Your Own PetMan Man - Six Demon BagCeremony - Violence ViolenceDrag the River - It's Crazy.



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    Posted by crazytoledo on 2005-10-25 11:42:25

    Whenever I hear the name I either think of a bunch of angsty metal listening core teens or a bunch of gay emo ***s...

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, October 23, 2005 at 9:07 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    their song on the Blindspot comp back in the day was a classic in my book.

    judges give 4 out of 4 stars!

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 2:13 PM (EDT)

    They mostly aren't punk inspired whatsoever...

    Most metalcore guys hate punk because it's "pussy" or whatever.

    -Will

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 5:41 AM (EDT)

    i wish more punk stuff would be reviewed here...i no longer count emo and metalcore as punk inspired

    Posted by RondoMondo on 2005-10-22 00:31:22

    Posting again. Still love this band by the way.

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, October 22, 2005 at 12:25 AM (EDT)

    Grindcore is not really punk?

    Grindcore is an extension of hardcore, which stands for "hardcore punk."

    Of course this shit is fundamentally "punk." It's just part of an underground punk-inspired subculture that is rarely, if at all covered by this site.

    And that's okay, because there are other sites for news about those bands.

    -Will

    Posted by CallingLondon on 2005-10-22 00:02:15

    "This website seriously SERIOUSLY sucks at reviewing any type of grind/extreme metal relases. They offer no insight, and it seems like this is the first time most of these reviewers have even HEARD grind. There's more to life than shitty indy and metalcore."

    well uh, it's a punk rock website. grindcore is not really punk. this band i'd say is more hardcore. i hate metalcore.

    Posted by CallingLondon on 2005-10-21 23:58:05
    My Score:

    guess i can't say "grindcore as a whole is complete garbage" anymore. damnit. that one track on no idea is pretty cool.

    Posted by dazed on 2005-10-21 20:34:29

    This band is awesome!

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 8:22 PM (EDT)

    "well, most of it is a user submitted review of grind records. if you think its really lacking, take a half hour or so and submit a good grind review....."

    I'm already in the process. I can't decide to do a review for the new Cripple bastards, or maybe a Bordoms review would be really cool even though they are not grind.

    Posted by Annonymous on 2005-10-21 18:38:46

    dont usually like this music but the song ive heard is good

    Posted by Annonymous on 2005-10-21 18:38:13

    i hate you guys

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 6:17 PM (EDT)

    "This website seriously SERIOUSLY sucks at reviewing any type of grind/extreme metal relases. They offer no insight, and it seems like this is the first time most of these reviewers have even HEARD grind. There's more to life than shitty indy and metalcore."

    No shit... I don't know why this review was posted.

    These guys are awesome, though I'm more inclined to call them poweviolence than grind due to funny the tempo changes.

    -Will

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 5:54 PM (EDT)

    "This website seriously SERIOUSLY sucks at reviewing any type of grind/extreme metal relases. They offer no insight, and it seems like this is the first time most of these reviewers have even HEARD grind. There's more to life than shitty indy and metalcore."

    well, most of it is a user submitted review of grind records. if you think its really lacking, take a half hour or so and submit a good grind review.....

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 5:45 PM (EDT)

    This website seriously SERIOUSLY sucks at reviewing any type of grind/extreme metal relases. They offer no insight, and it seems like this is the first time most of these reviewers have even HEARD grind. There's more to life than shitty indy and metalcore.

    Posted by superdude on 2005-10-21 17:16:08

    This review was pretty good, but here's how I would make it better:

    1. I would LOVE to see an asshole parade

    2. What's at the end? A huge fart?

    3. LOOK OUT!

    4. For the farts.

    5. Actually, all I had was that one comment and then I'm just wasting lines.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 4:33 PM (EDT)

    This is good...Pretty elaborate packaging for a 7" however. But No idea are always about strange packaging.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 2:34 PM (EDT)

    The kids tell me that this band totally rips live. I am inclined to believe them. Kudos for reviewing bands of this genre.

    -Ken

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 9:59 AM (EDT)

    Asshole Parade, rock hard, a lot like No Idea, oh yes!

    Posted by shindo on 2005-10-21 07:44:55
    My Score:

    Nosferatu!

    I enjoy this record and band quite a bit. Good stuff.

    -adam

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, October 21, 2005 at 7:43 AM (EDT)

    No Idea is the best label around. Never heard these guys, but I have never been let down by No Idea.

    In fact, I'm listening to Gunmoll as we speak.

    Posted by TheOneTrueBill on 2005-10-21 03:12:31

    I am definitly going to check this out. I've heard the name alot but like most No Idea bands never got any sort of feel for what they actually sounded like.

    Posted by RondoMondo on 2005-10-21 01:51:25

    Great band. Them and Combatwoundedveteran make me proud to be a Floridian. Nah. But I do love those two bands.

    Posted by almostpunkenough on 2005-10-21 00:43:31
    My Score:

    good stuff, it kinda all runs together though. and too short.

    Posted by etwiels88 on 2005-10-21 00:36:08

    Yay a good review

    Posted by stevejonestherealbones on 2005-10-21 00:31:50

    youre desk is fucking FAR from your stereo.
    you should move your stereo

    - jones the bones

    - stevejones8770@yahoo.com