The Devil You Know

CD Cover Econoline Crush
EMI

Review by Darren Kerr



45-second excerpt from "Surefire" (various formats)


I once saw Econoline Crush warming up, or maybe I should say thawing out, the crowd for Metallica at Thunderbird Stadium on a bitterly cold supersoaker afternoon. They rocked so hard I forgot I was wet.

Now, with their second major-label release, the Vancouver five-some show they are getting really good at that guitar-heavy, programming-laden sound, that chugging rhythm that's Ministry tested and White Zombie approved. I gotta tell you, though, I'm growing weary of the wading-through-a-megaphone distorted vocal sound. It's like "Instant Trent Reznor in a Can" by Gritco -- everyone and their mother are hooking it up and sounding like the Disturbed One.

To some, that may be just a quibble. "Home" has a way catchy vocal hook, as well as a nice BPM quotient, while "Burnt" flies out of the gate with cut 'n slash guitar all through the verses.

Ultimately, though, it all becomes predictable -- you know, no risk, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Look for any of these songs on the soundtrack for the upcoming movie The Crow III, in which Brandon Lee's understudy meets Spawn. They fight crime, compare capes and trade pheasant recipes.




First published in Drop-D Magazine on September 27, 1997

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