Band: Municipal Waste Album: The Art of Partying Label: Earache Rating: 9/10 Website: http://www.facethewaste.com BUY NOW!

Richmond, Virginia's masters of modern crossover return with their latest effort "The Art of Partying". The said album's title is in no way deceptive. Each song is made for drunken metal heads to mosh around a massive bonfire or the middle of a record store. Song titles such as "The Inebriator", "Beer Pressure" and the title track are a return to a time when metal was fun, when cracking a smile or a joke was still ok. These songs capture the good-time attitude related at the band's concerts where fans can actually crowd surf on a boogie board or prove their beer drinkin' skills by accepting the band's offer for slamming a beer bong. Don't get me wrong, though, "The Art of Partying" packs a hard metallic punch. Municipal Waste has a formula for their music that has yet to be altered. Most songs follow a similar course, heading into all the musical regions first established by classic 1980s crossover and metalcore bands like Suicidal Tendencies, D.R.I., Nuclear Assault and S.O.D. The Waste has always worn their influences on their sleeve, yet when you hear their music you know, without a second though, that you're listening to Municipal Waste. The normal course of action consists of dizzying fast speed metal and circle-pit friendly punk rhythms with varying degrees of speed. Speed rules the day before the band breaks it down into catchy, aggressive hardcore grooves. One influence seemingly untouched on "Hazardous Mutations", their last album, is Slayer. The title tracks opens the album with a classic Slayer-inspired riff that sounds like the band was listening to "Reign in Blood" while writing this riff. More Slayerisms surface on the very next track "Headbanger Face Rip" when Ryan Waste busts out a "Hell Awaits"-era riff, in par with the nefarious slow down on "At Dawn They Sleep". Another band that obviously influenced the group, but was not as apparent on the last album, is Suicidal Tendencies. "The Inebriator" begins with a similar rhythm to Suicidal's early material, most notably their self-titled album. The said song has the type of groove that according to Mike Muir "will make your body move". However, don't expect to stand still nodding your head to this catchy groove because soon you will get buried in an avalanche of speed led by Dave Witte's dangerously-fast blast beats. There are so many appealing facets of Municipal Waste. All members play their instrument with impressive skill, and the band attempts to showcase each individual's talent. At one moment, you may hear Landphil's quick fingers abusing his bass—revving up the band for a furious onslaught—an agile guitar riff or solo by Ryan Waste, Dave Witte's impressive timing behind the drum kit, and the tonsil-tearing velocity of Tony's punky vocal style. "The Art of Partying" somehow outdoes the speed and precision of prior recordings. Additionally, The combination of lyrics dealing with the band's favorite past time—getting wasted—and the cool Horror and Science Fiction concepts which the band finds so attractive make "The Art of Partying" the most genuine Municipal Waste album yet. So crack open a beer, fire up a bowl and let Municipal Waste "Fuck You Up!" Darren Cowan Back to Reviews