Mongrel have released their fifth CD of hard rocking metalish-punk rock. Reclamation rocks right out with rich lyrical themes on top of driving music with just the right amounts of metal and punch.
“Bored To Death” comes charging right in with a raspy throated tough mama vocal, a blazing guitar progression, and a bombastic rhythm section. The song moves at a brisk clip with a guitar break igniting the sonic landscape. Singer Jessica Sierra comes across with a driving determination and she does a fine job singing over the hard rocking terrain.
“Pseudocide” speaks angrily about copy cat bands ruining the music scene with their lack of originality. Sierra has an undeniable rage in her timbre and delivery while the band slams it home with her..
“Fuck Off And Die” jumps out of the gate with assertive drum rolls and feisty guitar chords. Sierra effectively presents the angry lyrics with her own unique vocal approach–raspy but never harsh timbre–belted out in kick ass fashion, erupting out of this girl in a way that suggests you stay out of her way.
“Zombies Of War” opens with an infectious tribal drum pattern and low end and opens wide on its ultra catchy anthem like chorus. Sierra fiercely enunciates the angry protest lyrics while making the song quite accessible. She compares the military-industrial complex to the flesh eating killer zombies of horror movie fame. There is a sense of largeness and purpose to this song delivered by Micah Maltais’s bass playing and Mike Hogan’s drumming.
“The More I Bleed,” clearly inspired by traditional metal, finds Sierra belting like a demon with her menacing aggression. Behind her, the band is so slamming and tight that you feel you’re in the presence of people who can push you up against a way. “Tarnished Halo” begins with mellow touches that lull the listener into a false sense of security. From there, Mongrel take the listener along for a rollercoaster ride of urgent music rushing through clever changes, twists and turns that make you feel a tremendous sense of movement here.
“C & A ½” is a fun, metalish sing along. Everybody knows an instigator drama queen like the one who stars in this song. Mongrel bring an infectious pop quality to their harshly worded lyrics: “You’re a two-faced, insecure, mental leash, psycho whore.”
“Guitarist Adam Savage riffs his rebellious soul into the heart of “Crucifiction,” a rocking riff-fest that features a rhythm tight enough to strangle someone. Once this band locks into a heavy groove, they become a fearsome, murderous force. Get out of their way before you become a statistic.
“Revisionist” is another song on this album with a tight hard rocking groove that carries you along with its smooth, wide, sweeping reach. Mike Hogan drums this one with an adept sense of when to speed things up with his rolls in between the beat. This gives the song a little extra something that isn’t usually found in local metal bands. Sierra is at her gentlest vocal approach on this disc, but that only mean she smoothes things out. She doesn’t try to sound like one of those pretty voice pop divas who have done their share to ruin modern rock. Yet, Sierra can vary her tempos, dynamics, and even her timbre in artful, tasteful ways, another notch in this local bands belt.
“Stillborn Savior,” the album’s darkest number, propels its way forward with a blistering guitar attack. Sierra belts out ominous lyrics like a woman possessed, bringing to frightening life a bleak religious landscape where words like missionary, redemption, and revelation get deconstructed until they lose their hopeful meanings and are transformed into sarcastic proclamations of something unholy and evil.
“Wake Up” is another well written gem of a protest song. This one kicks people in the head for letting the media dictate how they should think. Sierra is particularly punchy and belts this one as the rest of the band slam the message home with ominous power. “No Gods, No Monsters,” aside from making good use of the F-word,” is another social commentary sung to a powerhouse driving beat. Mongrel balances power and precision, meaningful lyrics with intense delivery. Fans of punk, metal, and those searching for something fresh cannot go wrong purchasing this full length CD Reclamation right away.
This is amazing! Thank you so much!!