(originally appeared in The Flint Journal, March 21, 2008. All images and photos courtesy of The Flint Journal. www.mlive.com/entertainment/flintjournal)
Coming in at a whopping 34 tracks, the new disc from Flint punk rock mainstays Smiling Sacrifice is almost too comprehensive. In aurally documenting their lengthy history, the band held nothing back, filling its new archival album with 20 years worth of Sacrificial goodness. But fans can rejoice: The jam-packed disc will leave listeners feeling like they've crossed over and landed in Smiling Sacrifice heaven. Or, more appropriately, Smiling Sacrifice hell. (But in a good way.)
Featuring Smiling standards like "Blood on the Wind" and "Gutwrench," the album extensively documents the band's endless devotion to all things dark and gloomy. Musically, all the usual hard-core elements are in abundance here: bombastic blast beats, beyond-crunchy guitar riffs, and lots of heartfelt screaming from vocalist Brian Orr. And like their live shows, the Smiling ones bring those elements together with panache to spare.
But it's a bit strange to hear the group's oeuvre pristinely preserved in the digital age after years of experiencing it exclusively through their raucous live shows.
Separated from the band's intense and often violent stage shenanigans, the studio versions of these songs emerge as much more coherent than their live counterparts. Instead of an unidentifiable din sailing over the music, Orr's vocals are often front and center, and in many cases you now can tell what he's yelling about.
The band also pays happy tribute to the sport of surfing, via a tune that sounds absolutely nothing like Brian Wilson (and the title of which cannot be reprinted here). And lest things get too upbeat, the song's protagonist dies in typical Smiling fashion, the victim of a blow to the head from his own surfboard.
By the time the final power chord disappears and the last scream fades, the disc proves to be a solid representation of the Smiling live experience, minus some of the sweat and most of the violence.
- Timothy Flynn
Journal staff writer
Are you in a local band? Do you have a new CD? Would you like to have your new CD reviewed in the paper? If so, please send it to me, c/o the Flint Journal, 200 E. First St., Flint, MI, 48502-1925.