I've been going about this all wrong from the very beginning. When I found the request in my e-mail to review "Devil Music" by Akron, OH punk-metal outfit, Dropgun, I was really looking forward to it. Especially having been so pleasantly surprised by my last subject, The Happies. However, upon repeated listenings in states of stone-cold, gruelling sobriety, as well as those not as much, this band did absolutely less-than-nothing for me. Musically they are a few rungs shy of being "not bad". Vocally, they're much worse; screamer, Tim Givens is, more often than not, off-key and when he gets lucky and hits it, his Lemmy-meets-the-phantom-of-the-pub voice doesn't do much for aesthetics.

 

Then, today, I wanted to attempt to give "Devil Music" and Dropgun one final, unbiased (now ,THAT'S some cold turkey-like will power, right there, gentle reader) listen before I drafted up my final analysis. When my attempt deemed unsuccessful, I figured it was the fates intervening, feeding my head with that old prankster mantra; "First Thought, Best Thought". But before I could actually sink my teeth into that thought, I was able to access the album once again, for good or ill.

 

Nothing was different about what was spilling out of my Logitech speakers on this particular pass, either. So, I started putting my unpleasant thoughts down on paper until I jotted down the following sentence: "Yes, they are a punk-metal band, but that's all that they are." And then, I not only saw the light, I was practically blinded by it. I realized that this band fits the mold of 'punk rock' to a disturbing, yet perfect, "T". Everything about this band just screams "PUNK". From the primitive musicianship to the over-distorted, out of tune "singing", Dropgun emulates the punk rock ethos. The only problem here is that there are a million bands who've come before them, doing the same thing and having done it much better. I will give them this much; they draw from some of my very own favorite (punk) bands such as the Kinks, the Misfits, Motorhead, and the Sex Pistols. The problem lies in the fact that they really don't do much with it. Of course, they do nothing to forge a sound of their own, either. Songs like "Cut Me Off" sound like a bad imitation of Ween covering Motorhead, albeit at a slower pace. While "Sunshine Let Down" has hints of the Pistols, the Kinks and Social Distortion but, unfortunately, nothing is done with it; it's just there. Then, there's what I consider to be the best song on the album ("best of the bad" may be a more apropos term, in this case), "Strip Disco". Here, they add a Misfits-like surf guitar that actually gives the song a distinction from the rest. It seems that Dropgun has no aspirations to do anything more than what they already do. And if you or I don't like it, I'm pretty sure these guys could give two shits less. And that, dear reader, is punk as punk can be.

 

Don't let me steer you away from this band. If you dig punk-metal, you'll probably want to, at least, give Dropgun a listen. To do so, hit this link http://www.dropgun.com/ .