I just can’t stand this band’s apparent inability to evolve! Yes, the solos are flippin' crazy, and nobody can use a whammy bar quite like Sam and Herman, but the video-game soundscape is, at this point, so soulless and gimmicky I wonder if it’s all worth it. I mean, I swear the drummer hasn’t changed his beat since the band started; not to mention the whole project smells of a pungent cheese the likes of which the world has never known. It’s like trundling through a bad RPG most of the time, and I find myself ever-so-slightly sick to my stomach from the candy-sweet production. I’m not even quite sure what that means, but I’m sure as hell it describes it to a tee.

I don’t want you all out there to get me wrong here, despite my clear disapproval of the disk: I have tremendous respect for this band (except the eternally-boring drummer ), and I love listening to the solos, which never prove disappointing and never really get old, but you just gotta grow, man. This is the same car you’ve been driving with a new coat of paint. Sure, it’s nice and flashy, but when it comes down to reality, it still has 300,000 miles, a leaky radiator, and veers to the right. This is the same old brand of plastic spastic you’ve come to love (or loathe; there doesn’t seem much inbetween for fans these days); if that’s okay with you, go on ahead, but I’m seeking some more heart in my musical diet. Too much cheese clogs the arteries.

written by Jesse Ketman

Playing time: 58:10