Does "Silent Night" make you want to silence whoever wrote that song? Does "Deck The Halls" drive you to deck the guy who started playing the track? Well, if you're looking for some holiday songs with some hardcore mixed in, then Psychostick's The Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride is just your disc.
Psychostick, most famous for their heavy, humorous anthem "BEER!!!," is back for a second round of crazy songs wrapped in a gooey center of hardcore goodness. Each song would be absolutely brutal if the lyrics weren't so silly.
This CD is guaranteed to scare your family members, until they take the time to listen to the words, that is. Then expect to have to play the album over and over again. Just don't laugh too hard when Grandma starts head banging after a few too many eggnogs.
The first full-length track, "Holiday Hate," typifies the feeling many people have regarding the holidays. The chorus, "Consumers gotta buy!" rings true far too often, as does the second to last line, "It's that time of year for having a breakdown." Psychostick drops a bomb in the song as well: yes, in the fourth line, they exclaim Santa is, in fact, a myth.
The third track, "Jolly Old Sadist," calls out the fat man in the suit directly. Psychostick's requests were simple: a Boba Fett, a guitar, a private jet, a truck of beer; all small requests, really. And yet, Kris Kringle falls through. So the boys let loose on Santa, not letting the old man's indiscretions pass. The songs has a drum- and cymbal-heavy beat that rolls right into a funny skit hardcore and metal fans will truly enjoy.
"Jingle Bell Metal," the next track, is a breakdown-laden song that will make you want to start a pit by the fire. The sludgy chorus, "Jingle bell metal / F**king s**t up with a double bass pedal," would be downright ominous if it wasn't on a holiday album.
After a quick "Silent Night" rendition, the disc leads into "Red Snow," a song chronicling Rudolph's path to revenge. You feel for the jolly little freak, even after he calls up some buddies and does some questionable things to the other reindeer and Santa.
The album wraps up with "Happy F**king New Year." The song says what everyone already knows, that New Year's resolutions are useless. Psychostick advocates not even trying, since you're just going to fail anyways. They then end the song and album with a repeated chorus of "Happy f**king New Year." A very prominent bass line that adds a taste of funk to the heaviness of the track fleshes the whole song out.
The entire album is a dichotomy of silly joke lyrics and legitimately heavy musicianship. Even the vocals are dirty and heavy. While listening to the disc, you'll find yourself chuckling as your bob your head to the song. It's hard to believe a heavy metal holiday album would work, much less a heavy metal holiday joke album, but Psychostick pulls it off. The guys of Psychostick don't take themselves too seriously, but they still write quality music.
At less than 20 minutes long, with only five real songs, the track list is a little sparse. But each song is legitimately funny and the music is honestly very well composed. If traditional holiday music isn't your thing, you owe it to yourself to give Psychostick's new release a spin in your player.
Be the first to comment on this article!
Log in to be able to post comments.