Customer Reviews

Slip

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This record bridges the gap between Sunny Day Real Estate and Rage Against The Machine in the best way! It's the best melodic hardcore record you'll ever hear. Even Deftones fans will step off once they've spent a little time with Slip. An addictive record with precise, meaningful lyrics. Came out at the height of new school NYC hardcore scene...on the heels of Gorilla Biscuits and 7 Seconds, and dusting everything that's come out since. Quicksand. Just to say it makes me smile.

This album changed hardcore forever. After this album, everyone either tried to emulate Quicksand's style, or just gave up. It made everyone look around at the state of hardcore at that time and say, 'what have we been doing this whole time?!?' This was the first record of its kind, though Swiz and Fugazi were probably influences. If 'Dine Alone', 'Fazer', 'Freezing Process', and 'Lie and Wait' had any more groove to them, the world would have to just stop spinning. Walter's voice and lyrics and his syncopated vocal rhythms serve to strengthen the already-massive musical force of their music. Tom Capone is one of the few guitar players in the world who should actually be playing guitar solos, and Alan Cage's drumming style is unparalleled. These four seasoned hardcore vets (the various members were at one time or another in Youth of Today, Bold, Beyond, Absolution, Gorilla Biscuits, Shelter, Moondog, Burn, and other great bands), all got exactly what they deserved by being signed to a major, and this debut release scarcely disappoints. The only let down here is the lack of vocals on Baphomet ('if you were mine...'). The vinyl version (good luck finding it) even has a better mix of 'How Soon is Now?' than you'll find on the Dine Alone promo single. Pick this up as soon as possible and feel whole again.

Walter Schreifels has one hell of a track record. He cut his teeth in the seminal punk/hardcore band Gorilla Biscuits, and proceeded to start this band here, Quicksand, before going on to form the amazing Rival Schools. All three sound completely different, but gracefully hold their own. Gorilla Biscuits was hardcore through and through, while Rival Schools was more of a rock records, per se. But his best work was with Quicksand, a perfect blend of the two. Blurring the lines of what hardcore, punk, and rock should sound like, Quicksand had a sound all their own. Ask the thousands of similar sounding post-emo, post-hardcore, post-whatever-bands what their favorite albums are, and I'll bet Quicksand pops up every time. And they should. Quicksand have an uncanny skill to create incredibly catchy songs while retaining all the heaviness of a hardcore band. While going relatively unnoticed to the general music-buying public, they have an almost cult-like following that remains strong to this day. I remember seeing this band open up for the Offspring and No Use For A Name in 1995, and all my friends hated them. Naturally they became my favorite band. Basically, anyone into bands ranging from Thursday to GlassJaw to even the Blood Brothers, this is where it all began. An absolute classic in all regards.

Standout Tracks: Fazer, Head to Wall, & Freezing Process

Every time i inflict Slip on whatever stereo system it molests, i always have the same thought: Holy **** this rocks!
I bought this back when on a hunch. Cool cover, dark arty photos that looked like rocking.
The first couple of times i played it, i couldn't decide what i thought.
It wasn't metal, punk, or anything else.
It sounded different from anything i had heard.
Then i decided it was awesome. Amazing.
It is a recording that has many contradictions.
It is Cold AND Impassioned.
It is Ugly AND Beautiful.
It is Quiet AND Raging.
The groves are huge, the sound gigantic.
The bass has a brilliant Rickenbacher punch that only that bass has.
The band is tight AND loose.
I always loved the way they build tension and then release it.
And yes, the Instrumental is creepy.
While the sound is Huge they leave space to breathe and reattack.
This is an all time great driving at night recording, played LOUD!
If you like music that makes you bang your head, play air guitar and play drums with imaginary sticks, this one will do it.
The reviews are not exaggerating. This album is a one off piece of genius, never to be recaptured, which is OK because you can listen to it again and again.
Brilliant Album.

Amazing band. I honestly can't stand all the garbage that constitutes as "post-hardcore" or "emo" these days. Bands like Thursday, Saves the Day, Taking Back Sunday(pretty much any band with "day" in the title) cannot and will not ever hold to Quicksand. On this cd you won't hear wussy guitars and whining vocals screaming about ex-girlfriends. Instead, you'll be treated to strong and assertive vocals and quality songwriting. Highly recommended

Criminally unnoticed and sublimely loud, Quicksand's "Slip" seems to reach inside itself for each song, summoning up the power behind each great guitar riff. Quicksand exudes the same type of weird energy found on records by the Deftones or Rage Against the Machine, where passion seems mysteriously imbued with intelligence.

Like Deftones' singer Chino Moreno's infatuation with The Cure, or RATM's Zach de la Rocha's hang-ups on delicate matters like politics, Quicksand possess melodicism and subtlety to go with their heavy metal affectations. Just check out their fuzzed-up, palm-mutes-like-a-punching-bag cover of "How Soon Is Now?" by the Smiths for proof.

Following a terse drum roll of greeting, "Fazer" opens the album by laying down an irresistible groove perhaps worthy of standing as a mosh pit classic, while the squirrelly riff on "Dine Alone" will get heads nodding all the way through to the climactic bridge section, where heads start flying. Likewise, other cuts, like the title track, don't really heat up until their own fiery endpieces, where guitarist Tom Capone's unique and satisfying soloing style metaphorically puts the pedal to the floor. Other great moments are "Lie and Wait," with a guitar part like an uncontrollable kerosene hose; "Unfulfilled," a song you'll feel you've known forever (in that good way in which the knowing is something drawn from the subconscious rather than something radio- or culture-born); and the sinister, chaotic instrumental "Baphomet."

Talk of inspiring effect on future musicians and waxing poetic on the significance of screaming aside, "Slip" is an underground landmark album for anyone who's ever enjoyed the clever side of the distorted electric guitar.

this is easily one of the best album is own. i got it in 93 when it arrived. at the time i had been into gorilla biscuits and had even gotten my hand on some moondog, which essentially became quicksand. the first 7" was great too, check revelation records, a great thourough company. two of those songs ended up here, but completists should really search out the song "clean slate" cuz that is definitely an awesome song that should've been on this album too. but i digress...this album dropped, and at first i was a little skeptical. i wanted something more metalish, like sick of it all, or, you know, hardcore. but the music and the melodies stuck in my head, and thier power....i went back to listen to those songs over and over, and through consecutive visits i had found that i was completely obsessed with this album. it is some of the most driving and dynamic music that exists even now. the sound is just so big, and walter schreiffels voice is off sync and on sync with the beat in a way that his singing is almost rhythmic. he build up each verse, stacking words and lyrical content while the bass and drums thunder and shift and the guitars just buzz and vibrate until its ready to swirl through the roof and youre just washing around in this room of sound and driving bass. and those cold cold vocals. almost detached, but listen to the lyrics, not detached, well observed, almost a narrative feel of the events that play as analogies. the guitar solos are some of the most unique ive heard. they are never embarrasing or over-wrought. and tom capone is chilling in his delivery.
if you missed them when they were around then you shoudl certainly have this album. comparisons to fugazi are not too off, there is a shared dynamic there, but their emotional strength and delivery lies next to that of tool. i listened to it recently and keep it in my rotation...in fact, this may be the second time i am reviewing this record. who knows...buy it.

This release captures the lost sound of Helmet where they left off, and slows down the tempo to give an equally emotive sound. The extra track on the imported version "How Soon Is Now?" is definitely worth a listen.

Slip is the album of the 1990's that should only be eclipsed by one other album, nevermind from nirvana. Quicksand have been one step ahead of the game since their inception. Their melodic post-hardcore sound is easily digestible yet complex. This band is certainly never boring. Listen to Dine Alone and curse alternative america for never giving this band their proper chance.

Even 13 years later, this album still rocks. It's one of those rare masterpieces where EVERY track rocks. A must for any collector of heavy, edgy, early 90's post-hair-band metal. Truly, every song is awesome. Baphomet is one of the scariest songs I've heard. Still gives me chills - and it's the 10th track!