presentation.  When it doesn't detract from the music, it can make a band stand out or at least set a tone of fun and entertainment.  I was offered a cookie because I stepped up to review this record.  Seems no one else really wanted to after seeing a picture of the band.  Davey Suicide and his band are a bit over-the-top in terms of image, but no one owes me a cookie, because I loved this album.  I would never turn down a sleeve of Thin Mints, however.

 

The album opens with a minute of a pretentious bluster in a set piece called "Your Honor the Asshole," during which Davey Suicide is charged with every crime, it seems, except jaywalking.

 

Once that bit of misbegotten theater is over, the remaining 10 tracks are a right solid demonstration of everything that makes (made?) Nu Metal enjoyable.  Davey Suicide and his band mix a healthy dose of Hybrid Theory-Meteora era Linkin Park combined with Godsmack, some Marilyn Manson, and elements of Rage Against the Machine and Papa Roach into a tight thirty-five minutes of crunchy, grinding, catchy songs filled with solid musical artistry and melodic singing and yelling.  Hell, I even caught the occasional guitar solo here and there amongst all the other music - not a common occurrence these days.

 

"World Wide Suicide" begins the musical portion of the album in very Linkin Park-esque style - quiet piano and whispered singing with soft percussion before launching into a metal announcement of presence.  "Are you ready?/Are are you ready?" isn't exactly a political treatise or heartfelt love song - it's an announcement that "World Wide Suicide" is here and metal is about to happen.

"Only Human"’s initial couple drum beats brought Genesis' "Land of Confusion" to mind for half a second before the rhythm guitars started pounding away.  This tune's mixed tempos and existential angst over some relationship are potentially the most Linkin Park-ish of the tunes.  This, after some very Manson-esque and Godsmack-like songs, has established the band's metal bonafides.  Just remember, Davey may be a tough guy, evident by the blusterous opening, but he'd also like you to know, "I'm not made of steel."

 

As if the imminent demise of western culture hasn't been announced well enough by The Offspring's "Stuff is Messed Up," World Wide Suicide's seventh song, "Nothing is Sacred," is a straight up litany of complaints about the state of things as Davey and guys see them.  "Innocence is gone/ The writing's on the wall/ All we know is crashing down" pretty much sums up the specific complaints.  A short spoken-word diatribe in the middle of the song makes it explicit that the best alternative to the way things are going is anarchy.

 

The concluding track, "Kamikaze Culture Shock," appropriately closes the set, returning to the bravado of "World Wide Suicide."  Apparently, the "Kamikaze Culture Shock" refers to the band "taking over."  While I don't exactly see this happening, I did enjoy the record, in spite of its occasional flaws, the largest being that ridiculous opening bit.  The quality of the music, the tight engineering and high-energy of every single song, (no power ballads here), make for a very solid album every fan of the bands I listed could find room for in their collection, and would enjoy very much.