Cast Members:
Jesse Robeck-Vocals
Paul Hansen-Guitar and vocals
Chris Fleckner-Bass and vocals
Travis Jones-Guitar
Kevin Peterson-Drums and hick call(as seen on track 5, Elevators)
History:
The Program was formed in 2001 in the Bay Area's East Bay. They realsed a demo and quickly gained recognition. Soon they were signed to Stillborn Records. In 2003 they realsed "Artifical Unintelligence" and have been touring in support of it ever since. The CD features many redone versions of songs form their demo and newly created songs. Soon after the relase of this album their Chris Fleckner and Travis Jones had to sadly depart. But they were soon replaced.
Music:
The Program was Stillborn Records first west coast signing. They combine old school hardcore with new-school melody. Placing equal emphasis on lyrics/singing as well as instruments, The Program is a talented young band that will soon be heard by many.
The CD
1. Start Over-A great opening song. It sets the tone of the album perfectly. With the fast drumming and the mix of singing and screaming, this song grabs your attention from the start and plans to hook you for the duration of your listen.
2. We Die Down Here-The song opens up with some drumming. It is then followed in by a little guitar and then some more machine-gun drumming. The lyrics are about friendship and trust. Jesse repeats the lyrics “Trust Me!” more than once.
3. Locked and Loaded-The third song on the album comes in with a combination of the band and singing. The song is then slowed down for a catchier chorus. After the chorus there is another verse. Then the song slows down again towards the end. The last minute of the song is as slow as the chorus.
4. Use Your Machine Gun Arm- More drumming to open this song. There is also a nice little diddely on the guitar also. This song can be seen as somewhat of a love song. Towards the end of the song the guitar starts to pick up. Towards the very end there is a breakdown, nothing special.
5. Elevators- This song opens up with a hick call. It is then followed by the best riff on the album. This song contains more singing than screaming, which can come as a surprise after the previous 4 tracks were mostly screaming. Just more Chorus, Verse, and Chorus.
6. Precious- Drums open the song followed by another neat little riff. The drums really keep this song together though. The song also features another somewhat catchy chorus. Towards the end the song slows down and a chant begins.
7. Place Blame Here- This song has another catchy chorus, more singing on this track with less screaming. Just as in some of the other songs, the song starts to slow down towards the end. I wouldn’t call these breakdowns. They are just lulls in the pace of the music. They don’t last for too long because the drums always bring the music back up to pace.
8. Casual Tragedy- Now here the Program goes back to the screaming approach. The screaming takes a leave of absence for the chorus, which is sung. The song features a few breakdowns. The best one coming near the end of the song with the lyrics, “I’ll paint this fucker in blood.”
9. Crowded Room- The song starts off with a slower guitar riff. The drums then come in to pick up the pace. This is another song about friendship and love. Some pretty interesting lyrics accompany this song.
10. AUI- By far the slowest song on the album. Somewhat of a declaration to what the Program finds as being true to themselves. Lyrically the song talks about how many people do not think for themselves anymore.
with a **** up...
The Score
This is an average record. No great but then again not bad.
