Not really searching out Slackjaw releases, this one just came about at a reasonable price. One problem though, my copy only has the front part of the sleeve. Don't have any credits for this release or the catalog number if there was one.
I'm pretty happy about the price, I would've hated paying more the $3 for this thing. Awful music. The song "Drugmaze" is a jocktacular anti-drug song. Really? Sludge metal needed to enter the anti-drug realm? The song attempts to portray a druggie that regrets the decision to use while set to a repetitive jock metal back drop. The flipside features the songs "Traitor" and "The Question". At 45 RPM, the songs have the advantage of ending before you realize you'd be better off listening to something else.
However, as stated in the last release I discussed; this band was way ahead of it's time. Had they came about just a few years later their brand of jock-punk and metal influences would have got them signed and put them on tour with the likes of Limp Bizkit and Korn. While I wouldn't consider Slackjaw "innovative" their reliance on heavy metal and hardcore punk cliches would've fit in perfect with the slam dancing, backward cap wearing, youth of the late 90's. In fact, they would have improved the scene.
A few notes, it appears that Slackjaw's catalog is a continuous string of "sides." The sides on this release are 3 and 4. The 1994 release I tracked down and discussed previously has sides 7 and 8. Despite the fact that I'm not a fan of the band, I'm now motivated to collect all sides. Another interesting tidbit, there are like 5 bands in Discogs that go by the name of Slackjaw. None of which are Lawrence Kansas' own.
