hahaha Battle Born! I love these guys! <3 From the wafting in of the opening notes on, you just know somehow, by some internal instinct that's in all of us, that probably harkens back to the caveman days, that this is going to be some kick ass music you're about to hear. The opening song Pull The Plug has a major Offspring vibe about it, not bad, and the vocal work on here is extraordinary. The bands 5 part harmonies that are just razor sharp and dead spot on, are something that's becoming a Battle Born trademark as of late. That's not a bad thing at all, BTW. After a very Metal sounding Dethklok instrumental that they put on here for some reason (featuring Craig from Guilty By Association on bass) and a song called 40 Second Song which, of course, lasts only 40 seconds, and it's sung by their bassist Ben and it's a song about doing drugs and trying to anally rape somebody and not being able to sleep. Don't ask. Then they play a song that's been a fantastic part of their live set for a while now, Waiting, and this song just perfectly captures all the things that make Battle Born one of the premier bands in the Scene right now - you got those amazing Queen like vocals I mentioned earlier, on top of these noodling guitar riffs, which sound thick and sick and are more impressive than annoying, because Chad and John can play their asses off, and all of that is piled on top of a hard pounding power rhythm assault from Nick and Ben that's moving fast and dangerous down the track like a nitro burning funny car. All of this comes together and combines to make Waiting one of the best songs you're ever gonna hear. I've seen Battle Born numerous times, and this recording just captures the band in an incredible moment of their career - not quite at the top of their game yet, but definitely on their way there. This 7 song EP then goes into a couple of covers from the Inspector Gadget and Power Rangers TV shows (Go! Go! Power Rangers!), and then ends with a really cool song called Templo El Shaddai that I think I've heard them play a few times before. I'm not sure if this is a collection of tracks they had laying around or just some stuff they wanted to record and get out there, but regardless, this is one kick ass release from Battle Born and a major must to add to your musical collection. Available from the band themselves at any gig they play, or from Felony Records, whoever that is. :-)

You gotta love a CD that has some cool cover artwork. :-) Yeah, I finally got around to picking up what I believe is the debut CD from Surrounded By Thieves, and I've been kicking myself in the ass ever since for not picking it up sooner. This shit is really, really good. Fast paced Punk rock with everything well played and some fantastic sounding vocal work on top of it all. Brandon did an amazing job here - Kudos Sir. Andy's guitar work is thick and crispy. He's got a good sound too, which always helps. He's pretty creative as well, like on the intro of that song Psychotic Mentality - cool stuff. The rhythm section of Rich on drums and Chris on bass shine on that song too. They're the ones who give all the songs on here that 'Pop' and pace everything played. They do it pretty well too. Surrounded By Thieves are an exceptional band. These guys remind me of some classic California Punk bands like The Faction, Bad Religion, or even Mad Parade - hard, fast, loud, punk rock with a bit of a pop slant to it. I dunno. All I do know is that this CD is excellent, and that if you don't have it already you should. Standout tracks on here include I'm The One, Riot, with it's catchy as fuck hook of 'There's gonna be a god damn RIOT!', Follow Me, Embers and Toni Robbins. I could of done without the Beard Core Bar Song tune at the end of the CD, but the super secret hidden track more than made up for it. It's cool. I'm a member of the Pepsi Generation too! :-) It's bands like Surrounded By Thieves who are keeping the whole 'Punk' thing alive and viable out here in Las Vegas, and I hope this CD is just the start of something beautiful for these guys. Great release. It's available for purchase on the bands website surroundedbythieves.com, so go there and grab one immediately! Admirable release.