Whether you realize it or not, you've probably heard CKY somewhere or another. They've had music in
Jackass segments, CKY videos, and Mtv and Vh1 are always using instrumental pieces from their songs as background music. You may also have heard of them on account of drummer Jess Margera being brother to Bam (of not feeding Phil fame). That's not to say that's a bad thing, though, as this band is well worth hearing. They've got a unique sound on top of some good vocals and all around instrument work.
Infiltrate-Destroy-Rebuild was their third album and consists of ten tracks, with just one going over the four-minute mark. As a result it's rather short, but still worthy of an ear.
Things start off right away with the wonderful opening track
Escape from Hellview. Their unique sound is apparent instantly with a memorable intro with strangly distorted guitars. A verse follows, and then a chorus of "So turn back, the silence is deafening/Turn back don't let them see you again/They make the rounds at the midnight hour and on the clock it's just a minute away." After there's another verse with the memorable line of "And now I'm finding my friends/Hanging from trees, made a bed of a barbed-wire fence." There's another chorus next, with Jess riding a crash and their distorted guitar sound. Following that is a bit of solo that's sort of electronic sounding, a bit like a frog croaking. Afterward is a return to the chorus with slightly altered instrumental parts. "So we're hours awake and the only mistake is we bleed/...If it's the last thing that I do I will be the one that will escape from Hellview/And I will" ends the song abrubtly. This is a good opener, and one of my favorite tracks from the album.
Next is
Flesh into Gear, one of their most popular songs. A version without vocals is all over Mtv in the background.It starts with a crash and gets into the distorted riff that's so catchy it'll get stuck it your head for days. "I can't expect you to see" is cleanly sung and then followed by a modified voice saying "Me when I'm not around." This occurs throughout the verses here and, despite how it might sound, is never annoying. "I'm a human machine/Laced with hidden disease/If the future is bleak/Then you're connected to me" is sung/spoken next, and gives away the theme of the song as being about some sort of half man, half machine. A chorus follows, with vocals getting a little more harsh. Another verse with that catchy riff, and then into the chorus again. "Flesh into gear/Myself appears dissected and pretentious" is sung in a deeper, almost shouting tone. Now there's a break with another little solo type thing. It sounds almost electronic, just like the previous track, but it's still sounds good and serves it's point to break up the song. The chorus returns, slightly angrier sounding thanks to Margera's washy ride. The band jams a bit, and then the song fades into silence.
Sink into the Underground is up next. Some snare notes launch into the interesting sounding riff. Then for the verse the guitar goes away and chimes in on occasion. A short jam break and then back into the verse. "Why do you have to tell me the things you tell me?/..I suppose that you'll expose me and I'll open up wide/Can't seem to penetrate" lead into a slower part that goes into the chorus. "No don't drop me now, I'll sink into the underground" is the main part, with some chunky riffs backing it up. Another jam break and then back into the bridge. The chorus follows and repeats a few times, and then the song ends with a "Yeah."
What follows is
Attached at the Hip. It comes in fast with riffing and some good drum work. A mellow verse with almost whispered vocals follows. "All is eerie, you're standing near me/Feel you breathing down my neck" goes into a repeat of the intro, but this time with vocals over it. Another mellow verse and then into the chorus. "Dependency/Seperate we never will be/Attached at the hip to me" comes off as another one of those catchy bits that'll get stuck in your head for a while. "You don't need to be so shallow" is sung over the intro music again, followed by "Turn your head, prepare to follow." Next is the verse with the interesting question sung softly by Deron in the form of "Have you ever seen another lying in a pool of blood?" A slight break occurs here, with more strange sounding effects. This flys right into the chorus. "Attached at the hip to me" is repeated a time or two in a distorted voice, and followed by the intro part again. Afterward, the song ends on some guitar noise.
Distorted guitar riffing begins the next track,
Frenetic Amnesic. The rest of the band comes in, and plays a bit before vocals come in. "A black out, they peel him off of the floor" is followed by a softer "Frenetic amnesic." After a little verse work in that style, the song heavies up a bit. With a chunky riff and vocals sung a little harsher with "Everbody's after me/You could be the enemy/You seem to happy to reveal yourself/There's no resentment here." More verse work, as guitars play high notes in the background. A repeat of the previous break, but with altered melody in vocals marks one of my favorite parts of the album. It's so simple, yet so effective. "What you see is what you get/Two seconds later I forget" goes into a solo moment, if you can call it that. It's once again sort of electronic sounding, but it gets the job done. Another verse, and a repeat of "Frenetic amnesic" followed by a few last notes end the track. This is a pretty good one, but not necessarily one of my favorites.
Shock & Terror begins with a slow, distorted riff. It's accented by some twangy notes and then goes into the verse. The vocals are whispered and low here. "Predicability is wearing thin" leads into a break with more twangy guitar over a slow, chunky riff. "Clouds mortified by my expression/Breathing new life into invention/Guiding the maggots with a weary hand/Has failed to leave any impression" goes into the chorus of "The shock and terror keeps me sane/Does anybody feel the same?" More slow guitar with various noises overtop. "Up now for seven days and wired/The concept of sleep is way too tired" is a memorable line. Another chorus follows soon after, and then there's more of those noises over the riff. A bit more of that and then the song ends.
Up next is my least favorite song,
Plastic Plan. It's not really bad in and of itself, but in comparison to the other tracks here, it looks less than stellar. Another slowish riff with some hat work from Jess lead off the song. "These things don't belong/On my list at all.." leads into a vocal break with "One day I'll try/To give the world a view" over some slow and steady riffing. This is followed with the chorus, which gets my vote for worst of the album. It just doesn't have that catchy factor. "We live within the plastic plan/Forming to ban the plastic plan" is the main part, with the good riffing going on underneath. A break with some good bass work over the guitar is a welcome change. But then it's back to the chorus, as it repeats a few times and fades out.
Inhuman Creation Station is next, and is the longest track here, at just over 4 minutes. It's also my favorite track on the record. It begins with a nice little drum intro from Jess. Then in comes the deep riff. In comes the vocals with "Driving in at work behind/Speed up the assembly line/Don't force units together, follow the instruction sign" and is followed with "This isn't happening a fourth time." After, is another verse followed by "This isn't happening a fifth time/This blood is flowing through a warped mind" and then there's a slight break. A chorus comes next. The vocals are lighter than the verse, and work well. The brief break is repeated before another verse. "Modern man cannot survive/Drowning in formaldehyde/Inhuman creation station, that's where we control your lives/And it's been happening since the dawn of time" is memorable bit. The break again, followed by another chorus. "You were in their design/Just thrown into a mind" is where the vocals ease up, getting more melodic. There's a break for strange sounding guitar before returning to the more common break of the song, until it ends abruptly.
Sporadic Movement is up next, and is also the heaviest track. It's gets right into the strangly distorted guitar and then goes quickly into a harshly sung verse. The chorus quickly follows, in the same harsh tone. Then the guitar sounds stranger, and the vocals go back to normal with "A chemical in the brain is so loud/Decision making turning inside out." Another verse as the vocals go back to a grating tone, and follow into the chorus. The mellow part follows again, with "..What you want nobody else has/A swift injection to contain this spaz." What follows is an ambient type section, with a bit of guitar. A quick drum roll jolts out of it, with "I am sporadic movement, you are sporadic" followed by the screaming of "A transformation!!" What follows is a bit of jamming, while the scream continues for a good bit. The song then just stops out of nowhere.
The soft ballad is next, by the name of
Close Yet Far. It's immediately apparent, as it begins with some soft guitar, instead of a deep, distorted riff. The vocals here are top notch, as they come in for the verse. The lyrics are also well done, with such lines as "Who said that I wasn't right?/I lived for years without a live/Don't have a soul on my side/Still ridiculed despite how how hard that I have tried." The chorus is good, as well with "Close yet far/Drop me a line and tell me how the hell you are/And I'll tip my hat to those who can't believe it's me.." The next verse follows the same format with "I can hear the sounds of the city/Sun rise and set are the same to me/A hesitating pulse is good company." This leads in some electric guitar wailing softly in the background. Another chorus, with vocals a bit louder than the first time. Now a repeated chorus but with a change in lyrics and the vocals are softly sung. They play the intro a bit and then repeat a few notes for an outro, as the song fades out with some guitar resonance, ending song and album.
Overall, this is a good album. It's got a unique sound and some great vocals throughout. The instrumentation is good too, along with the lyrics. If you're a fan of CKY's other works, this shouldn't disappoint. If you're looking for some new music that doesn't really sound like anything else and has some good music, too, then give this a spin. You could be surprised.
[+] Pros
(+)Has a very unique sound
(+)Good instrumentation
(+)Vocals and lyrics are well done
(+)
Escape from Hellview
[+] Cons
(-)Despite sounding original, some songs may sound the same after a few listens
(-)It's painfully short, with a runtime of just 33:52
(-)
Plastic Plan
[?] Perplexing
[?]Where have I seen that letter style before?
Tracklist
1. Escape from Hellview -3:41 (All songs written by CKY)
2. Flesh into Gear -3:06
3. Sink into the Underground -2:58
4. Attached at the Hip -2:59
5. Frenetic Amnesic -3:20
6. Shock & Terror -3:07
7. Plastic Plan -3:54
8. Inhuman Creation Station -4:08
9. Sporadic Movement -2:42
10. Close Yet Far -3:53
SCRUPLES
