It's now time for our 157th monthly CD review at The Sault Metal Scene, and easily the longest album yet I've looked at in this series, namely local "blue Chinese metal crash punk" quartet
Sykotyk Rampage's
sixty-fifth album
"WYRD Radio 2: Kype The Jesus Boots "! Depending on its sale location, the title is extended, but this is just what's on the cover art. Officially released on June 1st, this is just their fifth album since their last live concert date in 2016, but despite some long dormant periods, the masters of the crash never disbanded outright. A sequel to 2015's
"WYRD Radio" in loose format but not much else, "Kype The Jesus Boots" was recorded locally at River Front Recreation Studios as usual, with their tried-and-true method of improvising the songs on the fly, and it features their current lineup, including singer/drummer Paul Becker, his brother Dirk on guitar and vocals, guitarist Shane Kokis, and bassist/vocalist Tony Briglio.
"WYRD Radio 2" is on sale for $25 on Bandcamp or $9.99 on Reverbnation (yes, you can stream it for free too), and the high Bandcamp fee is justified when you consider that this is a triple album with forty tracks and a run-time of over two & a half hours! As such, to rein in the length of this review, I'm going to be more succinct with the song reviews to try and keep this post at a more manageable length (famous last words), but note that about ten of the tracks are spoken word announcements. Between the Reverbnation and Bandcamp postings of this album, track titles are sometimes not identical across both platforms, so I'll lean towards using the Reverbnation titles (which are laid out cleaner) unless there's a massive discrepancy that Bandcamp can fill, so look for brackets. Also, for readers of a more religious/Christian faith, be advised of the subversive and not always family friendly basis of the lyrics & concept.
To start, "WYRD Radio" is Sykotyk Rampage's fictional radio station (no link whatsoever to the actual WYRD stations in South Carolina), with station IDs read by Tony (I think) and on-air DJs being synthesized computer voices. As revealed in "Announcement 1" (a.k.a. "Intro), the female robot DJ (named Lisa) informs us that we'll be listening to a rock opera of the three gospels according to Paul (each of the three "albums" reflects a stage in the life of Jesus Christ), with Sykotyk Rampage pulling a Chris Gaines by playing these albums under the band name Kype The Jesus Boots. Unlike the DJ (who doesn't shy away from content to be heard in the albums), the actual gospel narrator is a straight-laced British male voice who plays it 100% straight and doesn't (initially) let on about any of the ribald or violent lyrics ahead, starting with "Book 1" on the gospel of Jesus' birth. If you wanted a Sykotyk Rampage Christmas album, here you go!
The first true song is "Place Of My Own Creation", which is actually a re-recording from their 2016 album "Kock Block Rock". A standard bluesy hard rocker that Sykotyk Rampage fans will be very accustomed to, it also has a long bass intro & some spacey effects. but Paul's vocals only come in late and more spoken than sung. Solid opener for fans! Next is "Donkey Saves The Day" (complete with bookended donkey noises), which keeps with their usual M.O. with a bluesy hard rock base and brisk tempo, though Paul is really buried on vocals. Fun jam rocker with trancey guitars, if not a sonic jump from their best known originals! "Influence Of The Innovator" concludes the trip to the manger, and this is the only song on the first two books with Dirk Becker's quavery punk snarl on lead vocals, if very buried in the mix. This track is a long and slow stream of consciousness piece that does meander a little too much for my liking on the whole.
Strong drumming, but the quiet vocals and deliberate pacing do interrupt the album's prior flow for me.
"Announcement 2" (a.k.a. "Birth of Jesus") follows with a word from our sponsors, namely the audio of the infamous Flintstones TV commercial for Winston cigarettes, before the narrator sets up events in the manger immediately after Jesus' birth. The next actual song is
"Star Shine", which has more of a slow, ethereal beginning before the usual Sykotyk tropes fall into place, and while the speed ebbs and flows, it gets into the usual chaos in time! Paul's vocals are also very prominent here, and vary well as the mood changes, but I prefer their songs that are more full-bore heavy.
"The Sky Is Burning Bright" follows with a spacier fuzz guitar motif underneath their standard Paul-fronted crash music intensity, and while the song is fun for fans, the extra static from the effects doesn't help for clarity (despite a VERY clear guitar outro).
An album-low 13 seconds long intro track follows, namely "Announcement 3" (a.k.a. "Jesus Travels"), with the narrator setting up the voyage of the Three Wise Men. The next proper song is "See Right Through Me", which is a mid-tempo rocker that has some fun extended guitar solos, but the extended progression is very simple and kinda flat, and for me, it's just not as interesting as their heavier and faster originals. The relatively short "We Three Kinks" (sic) is next with the return of the spacey effects of "The Sky Is Burning Bright", but this is a quicker, more free-wheeling driver of a song, and it's fun while it lasts aside from Paul being nearly inaudible on vocals. No, this isn't a cover of "We Three Kings". Then we have "Give You Anything", and things fall together for what I like out of Sykotyk Rampage here, with a clear listen to them delivering up-tempo bluesy hard rock!
The extended bass-and-drum bridge lets Tony show his stuff well too, and without extra effects or processing, Paul's crystal clear vocals add to the experience, so fans will be right at home here! Shame about the abrupt fade-out though. The last song of the first "album" is
"Jesus Boot Boogie", a fast dancey song that sticks to Sykotyk Rampage's wheelhouse, if in a hazier, less clear recording style. Hard to hear Paul's singing again, but the guys don't do anything out of the ordinary as pure musicians, so it's a fun closer to the nativity portion of the album(s)!
"Announcement 4" (a.k.a. "Jesus Gets Laid") has "Lisa" recapping her amusingly oblivious thoughts about the prior songs and Jesus' early life, before setting up "Book 2" about the life of Jesus in his 20s. A commercial break comes next, with audio from classic 1960s cereal commercials for Cheerios (with Bullwinkle), Beep Beep (with the Road Runner)...
... and Alpha Bits (with Bugs Bunny & Elmer Fudd). The narrator finally returns to introduce the second album about the gospel of Jesus' life, starting with John, chapter 9, where Jesus encounters a blind man and helps cure his eyesight, leading directly into the first song of this book, "Jesus Left You Blind (On Purpose)". This song doesn't reinvent the wheel for the masters of the crash, with the bluesy hard rock you've come to expect, but the guitar riff is extremely repetitive and aside a couple of choruses, it never lets up. Still a solid clear rocker for fans! Next is "Kype The Jesus Boots", after the band name Sykotyk Rampage have taken on in the album's universe, but don't expect a shift in sound here. A driving rock song with a more varied structure, this is another one to really muffle and layer the vocals, but beyond that, the fun riffing and bouncy music will appeal to fans! We even get a drum solo from Paul late, which is neat!
"Remember That Girl" (spelled "Grrrl" on Bandcamp) follows with an outsider-ish opening before the full band jumps in, and while the song is slower, bassier, and more discordant than normal for them. The noise rock and abrupt ending alone puts this low on the album for me, but Paul's clear singing does give it some extra points. Next up is
"Jesus Booty Call", which is a return to form for Sykotyk Rampage, with Paul's forceful bluesy vocals driving the action, though in this case, the band proper are quieter and more used as incidental backing music. Fun track though, if very risque in theme!
"Announcement 5" (also named for the next track on Bandcamp) follows, with "Lisa" introducing a vintage TV commercial for the women's headache/pain relief medicine Cope before the narrator quotes passages from Luke and Mark to introduce Mary Magdalene, who is definitely portrayed as Jesus' love interest here.
For further proof, the next song is entitled "Magdalene Is A Screamer", which is the most punk-based song on the album yet, and while it is a little one note for a 5+ minute song, it's fun hearing the guys rock out like this, and Dirk & Shane's riffing meshes well together! The mid-way point of this triple album is reached with "Jesus Love Potion", a slower plodding blues rocker that isn't energetic or varied enough for my liking compared to many earlier songs, but it is a good lyrical showcase for Paul while it lasts. The second half of "WYRD Radio 2" begins with "Eat Shit Bitch", which is similar in sound and pacing to the preceding track, but it is livelier in structure and lyrics, and the title does hint towards some extra fire and intent in this way! Better song, but I like my Sykotyk Rampage with more rampage. The last song of the second album is "Devil Dance For You", a seven minute song bookended with minute long soundscapes of samples.
Once the band proper is in action, this is another relatively slow track, but very impactful with strong vocals, good effects usage, and a nice energy that helps set it apart from the other recent mid-tempo or slow songs!
"Announcement 6" (a.k.a. "Dinner") wraps up the book of Jesus' life, with "Lisa" giving her thoughts about Mary Magadalene, and giving alleged insight into Mary Magdalene's life after this point, before setting up "Book 3", the last third of the triple album about Jesus' crucifixion, death, and resurrection. The narrator then quotes Bible passages relating to the Last Supper and Jesus' betrayal, though here, there are obvious new lines of dialogue relating to what exactly they were eating and Judas' future hopes. The first song of the final album is
"Life Without Me", which is a return to form for fans who want more upbeat rock, though the vocals aren't super clear.
Fun rocker that would go over well live, but for fans boring through the whole thing in one sitting, it's nothing you haven't heard before. Next is "Last Supper Whine" (sic), which is a distortion-heavy song that serves more to showcase Paul's bluesy singing, which is back to direct clarity, but you do get some solid bass from Tony and a bit of a fun guitar solo in the background. Not super heavy, but fun for what it is! "By Your Hand" follows with a chugging train-esque riff that never seems to stop, only varying when Paul chimes in with some sporadically timed lyrics and shouts, all fuzzily mixed (and with no drums). Announcements aside, this song is the most like filler on here, and it's almost 5 minutes long! Speaking of which, we have "Announcement 7" (a.k.a. "The Cross") next, which leads off with the audio from a 1960s TV commercial for Chesterfield filtered cigarettes.
The narrator then returns to set up Jesus Christ's crucifixion (albeit with way more off-kilter details not in the Bible), before moving to the quick 2 minute song
"(The) 12 Steps Of Rehabilitation". This is actually an instrumental, and it is more of a garage rock song, so it's an interesting change of pace, though whether it fits the lead-up to the crucifixion is subjective. Things return to musical normalcy with
"Only 1 Nail To Hang A Picture Of Jesus" (they have a point), which has a bit of a funk rock vibe while sticking to the tried-and-true sykotyk formula! Paul does chime in a bit on vocals late, and someone suggests a smoking break at the end, but this is effectively another instrumental, and it's interesting to see that the guys are opting not to add lyrics at the most dramatic part of the story. Reminds me of Gonzo and Rizzo skipping Stave 4 of The Muppet Christmas Carol. Fun song though!
Track #30 is "Purple Jesus", which ends the album's instrumental break with Paul back on proper lead vocals. A fuzzy and hazy blues rocker, the lyrics do resonate more than some others at this stage, and while it's not a bad song, I do wish it was clearer and more direct. "Announcement 8" (a.k.a. "Life Again") is next to set up Jesus' resurrection with some comically archaic and subversive dialogue about Mary Magdalene discovering that he has returned. The shortest of the thirty actual songs is next, namely the 99 seconds-long "You Changed It All", an against type (mostly) acoustic ballad that lets Paul's distinctively bluesy voice shine, and it's a shame that it's so short! "Save Me From Myself" follows with a return to musical form with a distorted heavy progression, if very muddled, with drums & vocals coming in & out, a lot of feedback, and some eerie backing vocals. Noise rock fans may dig this, but I'd want structure.
In the next song,
"Damn Living Again", we tie things back to what Sykotyk Rampage do best outright, with a direct bluesy hard rock structure, solid instrumentation (including a quality guitar solo) and clear production, with Paul letting off some surprising screams at varying points! Definitely a late highlight for me, and not overlong either! Next is
"Same Shit Different Day", a more drawn out, deliberate song that lets the guys jam out but isn't as blatantly engaging for fans of the crash side of their "blue Chinese metal crash punk". Well constructed and clear, but it does drag a bit for me.
"Announcement 9" (a.k.a. "Jesus Bus") gives us a 31 second narration about the resurrected Jesus and Mary Magdalene taking off in their rock n' roll bus (it makes sense in context), before we get the song called
"Jesus Rock N' Roll Bus" next, which
finally sees the return of Dirk on lead vocals for the second time.
A chugging rocker with punk influences, Dirk gets his "Lowest of the Low" on for both of his verses, but they're not the primary feature of the song. Not a bad rock number while it lasts, and the non-sequitur turn helps add to the album appeal! We shift gears next for a rare studio cover of theirs, namely of "The Watcher" (titled by them as "Jesus Is The Watcher") by British space rock band Hawkwind. Many of you will know that late Lemmy Kilmister was their bassist in the early 1970s, and he wrote this song and later played it with Motorhead, so it will not surprise Sykotyk Rampage fans to learn that Tony is on lead vocals for their cover. Is the idea that Tony is voicing Jesus singing this song while on tour in the rock n' roll bus? Presented as a faux live recording with a canned audience track, this version hews closer to Hawkwind than Motorhead, and while not mimicking Lemmy's vocals here, Tony gets the job done!
The song proper is a little meandering and out of Sykotyk Rampage's comfort zone, but it's not bad, and it would be interesting to hear them cover more established songs! "Announcement 10" (a.k.a. "End of Show") concludes "Lisa"'s broadcast day, where she sums up reactions to the gospels, sets up next week's "show" about alien abduction cases (if this will be "WYRD Radio 3" or not, I can't say), and introduces the final track, a fan request for a song by Sykotyk Rampage, who sound a lot like Kype The Jesus Boots! This is a re-recording of "White Stallion" from their 2009 album "22", and is again presented as a faux live recording with a raucous crowd added in post. The longest song on this triple album, this is the third and final track on offer with Dirk on lead vocals, and I do remember it from back in the day (impressive given the 900+ tracks in their discography!) The song proper is unchanged, but this is definitely a re-recorded version.
A dark yet punk-infused song that makes great use of Dirk's distinctive vocals, this is a fun closer to the album with strong instrumentation, and while not linked to the Jesus stuff at all, I enjoyed hearing it again! Alright, after thirty songs and ten announcements, what are my final thoughts on "WYRD Radio 2"? It's one hell of a marathon to listen to in a 2½ hour sitting, but pre-indoctrinated fans of Sykotyk Rampage with their environ-mental suits on will be right at home! This is easily the longest album I've ever reviewed for the SMS, so it does help that the Beckers, Shane, and Tony didn't change their existing formula too much, and most of what's on offer delivers the blues-laden improvised hard rock fans know and love, even if the rate of album releases has dramatically slowed since the mid-2010s. The conceptual theme, while perhaps controversial for more religious people, is amusing and I wasn't offended by it.
I haven't reviewed the first "WYRD Radio" (linked to this album only by the radio station conceit), but high concept stuff like this is always impressive to see from local bands, and kudos to them for sticking with it for three albums' worth! Songs like "Give You Anything", "Jesus Booty Call", and "Damn Living Again" capture their original, distinct sound very well, but there's
way too much to succinctly sum up. For negative points, my biggest issue was the inconsistent clarity, with too many songs recorded in fuzzy conditions with Paul's vocals buried in the mix. Also, the lyrics could have went even further to tie into the religious subversion themes than they did. For newcomers to the original crash band, I do
not recommend starting your sykotyk voyage with this album though, as it's a
lot to take in at once. I'd start with either "22" or one of their "Greatest Hits" albums, so you get a feel for their best known songs first.
Plus, fans of Dirk's lead vocals will be disappointed by him only singing lead on 10% of the actual songs, where many of their shorter albums had a higher percentage for his vocal input. Still, if you're prepared for a ribald conceptual marathon of new Sykotyk Rampage music, "WYRD Radio 2" will deliver the goods more often than not, and hopefully they emerge from The Cave with more new stuff down the road! I hope you liked this month's CD review, and we'll have a much, much shorter review in August when we finally look at local indie/punk quintet The Northwest's new EP "All In"! Look for that then, and for more on the site next week! Thanks everyone!
