Customer Reviews

Fuse

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I think it was 1987 when Jello Biafra said "punk's not dead, it just deserves to die". That was before the movement suffered the indignities of Blink 182 and their long list of imitators. From the late 90's until recent times, that statement seemed more and more true. Then some good things happened. Pennywise's `From The Ashes', Bad Religion's `The Empire Strikes First', Social Distortion's `Sex, Love and Rock and Roll' to name a few.

Pennywise's newest (and arguably most technically ambitious) is the most recent of those good things. With `Unknown Road', PW came into a sound. They really haven't lost it since, although I would say `Straight Ahead' and `Land of the Free' were a drop on the shaky side (hey, you try losing an original band member to suicide and keeping it together). With `The Fuse', they open with their signature sound (the one we knew from Unknown Road, Full Circle, About Time) and don't let up. The riffs are fast, but well placed. They have guitar solos, but avoid that boring heavy metal trap. The bass guitar does more than mirror the rhythm guitar.

Lyrically, at first listen, I thought `The Fuse' was a bit of a letdown. I did not like `Competition Song' where the lyric "We compete until we die" is rhymed with "We compete until we die". I also felt the short song titles were poorly chosen. It almost felt like they had a musically phenomenal album produced, but rushed the lyrics. However, after a few listens and memorization of the album (somehow I can learn every lyric to an album in three listens, but have no idea what I had for lunch 3 hours ago) I realized the lyrics were actually pretty pointed and very timely. Major standouts are "Fox TV" and "18 Soldiers", but there are no bad songs, and after a few listens, "Competition Song" is pretty catchy.

In a time when you can go to the mall and buy an `Exploited' shirt from a kid with a mohawk and a `Good Charlotte' patch sewn onto her jacket, it's nice to see some (dare I say) respectable punk being produced. At a recent PW concert (they played NYC with Bad Religion, Anti-Flag and Murphy's Law - incredible show) Fletcher asked if anyone remembered Fred Durst. He underscored the point that PW will never be as big as Limp Bizzkut (sp? I don't really care), but that PW has been around over 15 years and have a very large and extremely loyal following.

So buy this CD, listen to it a few times, give it a chance. If you don't like it, I'm sure the local corporate megalith music shop has the new Green Day CD on sale.

I love this band. A true punk rock band to the bone, their formula has proven more than successful over the years, they have stuck to their roots and haven't changed for anyone or anything. It's bands like pennywise that give us hope and make us realize that worrying about bands like simple plan and good charlotte flushing punk rock down the jon is not worth it. Those bands will come and go, but bands like pennywise, bad religion, strung out etc will never die. Long live Pennywise!

The album reminds me alot of Land Of The Free...all the songs are brilliant, to me Stand Up and Best I can are probably the coolest. The thing I love most about this album is that the lyrics are generally all about hope, not giving up, and a fight worth fighting for. Thank you Pennywise for keeping it real!

Anyone who has been listening to Pennywise since 1991 will not be disappointed by this darn fine album. When this band first came out they stood out as a clear, fast, great-sounding punk rock phenomena you could play over and over with pleasure. It is nothing short of amazing that this group still has retained their pure punk rock sound.

We have lost many of the greats of punk hardcore: Faction, Minor Threat, Bad Brains, Cro-Mags, and Black Flag to name a few. Now the pop-puppet-imposters of MTV are doing their best to smear the punk name...but who cares? Let the young MTV boys and girls who never had a friend with ink, a mohawk, and bloody knuckles buy their My Chemical Romance and Blink 182 compact disks and posters. Thanks to unwavering groups like Pennywise and, of course, Bad Religion, the essence of true punk still lives!

Take some catchy riffs, slightly immature and simplistic lyrics, fast-paced drumming, and non-audible bass. What do you get? Pennywise, of course. Well, mostly all of today's punk, but Pennywise are too talented to be placed in that category. Pennywise are a band that never cease to amaze their fans by not leaving their roots, but yet i have to wonder how they've kept them satisfied for so long. "The Fuse," however, is their best effort yet. Regardless, I personally find this album to be very infectious for a short period of time. Some days, all I could do was keep scrolling to the 'Pennywise' section of my limewire. But, alas, I must now break up the CD into sections as I listen. You may be wondering to yourself, ( more than likely not, though ) why I seem to be taking shots at the album during my review. The only reason for this is that I know this album could have been five times better than it is. You also may be skeptical to listen to another 'whiny punk band', but that's okay, I've been there, too. Basically all punk bands, except a few like Bad Religion, have no theory in their music, ever. You know drill, favorites below: ( I'd like to put a ton more on the list, it's just some tracks seem to be lacking something, though I'm not certain what it is ).

3. Competition Song - Although we have heard this message before, it wouldn't hurt America to hear it again. The back-up vocalist gives a great performance on the chorus here.
7. The Kids - The song that made me want to listen to this CD. It packs punch, and it is a personal favorite.
8. Fox TV - The closest thing to a drum solo you will find in punk, I liked it. The stop and start idea is pretty neat, too.
14. 18 Soldiers - The lead vocalist may be very difficult to understand in this song, I feel this chorus is a bit familiar. Anyhow, this song is a great example of how Pennywise can get the job done.

All in all, this CD might be monotonous at points, but you really should check it out, because you always do need those good tunes stuck in your head, instead of the pure ludicrous that is invading our local radio stations today. Thank you for your time.

Pennywise does it again. The Fuse comes out in anger against society and government... and for those of you who criticize, this is what punk is all about. As Country music is for dogs, trucks and broken hearts, so is punk for Anti-Social behavior and Anti-Goverment rebellion. Get this CD, it's worth the price you pay. In a land where Punk has branched out to mainstream MTV and 13 year old prissy girls and skater boys, Pennywise's punk reminds us that REAL PUNK is still NOT dead.

This band just keeps improving.. I still can't decide whether this album or "From The Ashes" is better, but as the previous reviewers said, if you like "From The Ashes" and "Land Of The Free", even "Straight Ahead", this album is definitely for you.. I first got excited about the album when "Yell Out" appeared on the Warped Tour Compilation for this year, but little did I know how much this disc would kick ass.. Jim's vocals are just as good as ever and the guitars have the "Land Of The Free" feel to them, only on the next level.. Here's the track list:

1) Knocked Down - Great opening song, awesome riffs and even more awesome vocals.. Probably their best opening song since "Peaceful Day" on 'About Time' 10/10

2) Yell Out - First song I heard on this album.. Also probably the fastest and very best vocals, by far.. Should have been their single, I don't know why is wasn't 10/10

3) Competition Song - I don't like the bass in the song, and Jim's voice is fairly monotone in the verses, but the chorus is okay.. The best part of this song is the bridge with the guitars 8/10

4) Take A Look Around - This song is really cool, but hard to explain.. The chorus is awesome.. Not one of my favorites, but still a solid track 8.5/10

5) Closer - This is probably my favorite song on the CD.. The beginning guitars is amazing.. I can't even explain it.. The verses, the chorus, this is a vintage Pennywise song.. If you want to download a song to test out this album, this is the song I recommend 11/10

6) 6th Avenue Nightmare - Jim's vocals are great and the riffs are great on this song.. I wasn't crazy about it first, but now it's probably one of my favorites 9/10

7) The Kids - This almost sounds like an Offspring song with the "hey hey!!" in the chorus but it's still a great song (I'm an Offspring fan too) Also a great bridge 9/10

8) Fox TV - Finally!! A political song of theirs.. This is classic Pennywise and a good song 8.5/10

9) Stand Up - There's nothing too special about this song, but the chorus is really cool, the bridge is great, and I especially like the lyrics on this song 9/10

10) Dying - I love the background vocals in this song.. Still no fillers 8.5/10

11) Disconnect - This is supposedly the single off the album.. It's got a great rhythm to it.. I don't think it's the best song on the album, but it's still really good.. Kind of reminds me of "This Is Only A Test" from 'From The Ashes' 9.5/10

12) Premeditated Murder - This song is a little too repetitive for my liking, but still has some pretty decent riffs 7.5/10

13) Best I Can - This song's lyrics are a little weak, but it's still decent.. Definitely not one of the better on the album 8/10

14) 18 Soldiers - Great, great political song.. This song is awesome 9.5/10

15) Lies - This is such a funny song.. The chorus is so weird, it just.. stops in the middle of the song, but it's a great closer to a great album 9.5/10


Pennywise is back and better than ever.. If you like this CD, you know the others to check out.. Also, look into their old albums, "Full Circle", "About Time", "Unknown Road" and the self titled album.. Best punk album of 2005, worth every penny

first off let me say this cd is loaded with non stop pennywise action speed. This cd is better than the last cd Out of The Ashes. This cd sounds a lot like their past 2001 and 1999 cds land of the free and straight ahead but with raw power. If those 2 cds were fused together it would have been called the fuse. Pennywise never fail to deliver. Their last cd was some what popish compared to the new one but still not bad id recommend for a begining pennywise fan that they buy this cd and go from full circle to the fuse everything from that era is great if you like that stuff then go back to the older stuff when Jason thirsk was still around.

This album is similar to the last two Pennywise albums, only a little more pissed. If you've enjoyed any of the last four albums, I bet you'll love this. There are a few really catchy songs--worth checking out.

This is probably one of the most overlooked punk albums of the past ten years.. Pennywise finally received the attention it deserves with their 'Land of the Free?' and 'From The Ashes' releases, then it seems as if they were forgotten again when this disc was released.. It's even evident in the number of reviews the two albums got.. Of course, the lead single of the fuse, "Disconnect", was one of my least favorite singles from the band when I look back at "Holiday In The Sun", "F*** Authority" and "Alien".. However, as a whole, this is one of the better albums Pennywise has composed.. The opening track, "Knocked Down" is probably my personal favorite.. It was also a featured song on an episode of The O.C. - "Yell Out" was the first track I heard, being that it was on the 2005 Warped Tour Album.. It's probably the most like their previous releases.. It sounds like it could've come off 'From The Ashes' or 'Land of the Free?'

The only thing lacking from this album is the assortment of political tracks that Pennywise has come to be known for.. There are only two songs on 'The Fuse' with such a theme, and they happen to be two of my favorites: "Fox TV" and "18 Soldiers."

Knocked Down: 10/10 (2nd Single)
Yell Out: 9.5/10
Competition Song: 7.5/10
Take A Look Around: 8/10
Closer: 9.5/10 (Awesome guitar riffs in this song)
6th Avenue Nightmare: 9/10
The Kids: 9/10
Fox TV: 9.5/10
Stand Up: 7.5/10
Dying: 9/10
Disconnect: 8.5/10 (1st Single)
Premeditated Murder: 6/10
Best I Can: 7/10
18 Soldiers: 10/10
Lies: 9.5/10 (Probably one of the slowest Pennywise songs, but an awesome close to the album)

Album Grade: A-

If you're looking to get into the band, I'd start with 'Land of the Free?', which is probably their most widely popular album and has their most recognizable song, "F*** Authority".. They have 8 studio albums and an EP are currently working on a 9th full length, due to hit stores sometime early in 2008.

This album isn't bad per se but it feels very generic. It sort of falls into a "been there, done that" punk style. You'll be hard pressed to figure out which track you have selected when listening to the first five seconds of each. If you really like Pennywise you will like this album. Otherwise, you'd do well to pass this album over.