The quasi- metal/hardcore/punk supergroup known as Venemous Concept are back with their sophomore release Poisoned Apple, a 34-minute, 17 song collection of fast moving brutality, which in itself is an introduction of bassist Dan Lilker (Nuclear Assault. SOD, Anthrax) to the fold. Honestly, there's not much else to say here, this CD comes and goes pretty quickly with nary an original idea, Shane Embury, Kevin Sharp, Danny Herrera, and Lilker blasting away with punkish energy that, while commendable in their ferocity, forces each song into a similar pattern, giving the album a very generic feel. While there are a couple of inspiring rave-ups here ("A Case of the Mondays" and "Water Cooler" being two of them), most of this type of non-stop insanity we've heard before from countless other bands, and usually better. Herrera's drums are pulverizing, yet he tends to drown out the jagged guitar riffs of Embury, and Sharp's vocals are standard, one-dimensional barks and screams.
If you like stripped down, frenzied hardcore, with songs that fall into the 1-3 minute range, then this might be for you. However, if you require a little more meat with your potatoes, might want to stop at another restaurant.
Track Listing
1. Drop Dead
2. Toxic Kiss
3. Life
4. Water Cooler
5. P.R.I.
6. Artist Friendly
7. Case of the Mondays, A
8. Every Mother's Son
9. Workers Unite
10. Half Full?
11. Check Out
12. White Devil
13. Hero
14. Three
15. Screwball
16. Chaos!
17. Think?