Today is the Day

Willpower (AmRep)
by Troy D.

Like your first sip of beer, good things often seem harsh initially. Willpower (AmRep) from Today is the Day is a perfect album. You may not see it right away, in fact, it may cause you extreme discomfort, but you’ll come around. Sampled movies for intros, hellish time changes, screeching vocals, suicide-inducing lyrics… this is good. Haunting and heavy as a lead pig, this album is so fresh you may not get it. Even if you listen to it over and over, nothing will sound familiar, nothing about it will strike you as catchy. The hooks are buried. If you want easy listening, buy one of STP’s records. If you want something that demands your attention, this CD is the shit.

The drummer is in another dimension. I don’t know where it is, but the guitar and bass players somehow telepathically follow him around obscure, seemingly random rhythms. Either the members of this band have taken a super-memory class or they transcribe this stuff, because this isn’t three chord, 4/4 drone. The lyrics are simple. The vocals are angry.

Willpower from Today is the Day will be the best album of the year, no doubt. No airplay, unfortunately, but remember: You can’t find good art on a museum wall. You must search the alleys and seek out the wretched, filth-laden truth.