Rough Edge: Psychostick CD Reviews

PSYCHOSTICK

"Sandwich" (Rock Ridge; 2009)

Psychostick continues to be the most fun band in rock'n'roll with "Sandwich," twenty-four tracks that will have you banging your head while you laugh your ass off at the same time.

As the band themselves admit on track 10, "Too Many Food," most of the tracks on "Sandwich" have to do with food. There's "Don't Eat My Food," "The Hunger Within," "Grocery Escape Plan," "This is Not a Song, It's a Sandwich," "Orange" and "Do You Want a Taco?" And there's also "Caffeine" which, I guess, could fall under the food category as well. It's not often you find a heavy metal band dedicating that much time to eats. But there are other topics covered here as well, including "Shower" (yes, with instructions on how to take a shower), "Girl Directions" (about the frustration that comes from taking directions from women), spam e-mails ("You've Got Mail Enhancement") and even vaginas (in the eight second long "Vah-jay-jay").

No matter what the topic, however, the lyrics are hilarious and the music kicks ass. Even on the obviously intentionally radio-friendly "#1 Radio Single," (which emulates a Top 40 emo hit), the band nails the sound while delivering lyrics that are funny and scathing.

There's also Track #22, the 14-minute long "373 Thank Yous." One of the more interesting tracks on the CD, this is a collection of the names of 373 people who donated money to the band to finance the making of this CD. Yeah, it's the kind of song you don't really want to hear often, but it's pretty damn funny the first time through.

Finally, there's "Outtakes!!!1." Like many movies do these days, the CD closes with a collection of outtakes from the recording of the CD. Pretty funny stuff.

I maintain that there's not enough humor in rock'n'roll these days and I'm thrilled that bands like Psychostick are out there, still delivering the laughs with their metal.

Psychostick: Rob "Rawrb" Kersey - lead vocals; Joshua "The J" Key - guitars, vocals; Jimmy "Jimmychange" Grant - bass, vocals; Jake "Jakermeister" McReynolds - guitars, vocals; Alex "Shmalex" Preiss - drums.

For more information, check out http://www.psychostick.com.

"The Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride" (Rock Ridge; 2007)

Reviewed by R. Scott Bolton

When Rough Edge first began, there were very few rock'n'roll Christmas albums out there, and virtually no hard rock or heavy metal Christmas albums. Then, slowly but surely, they started pouring out. Gary Hoey's classic "Ho Ho Hoey" albums, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra collection. Finally, even Twisted Sister has a Christmas album.

But there's never been a Christmas album like Psychostick's "The Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride." Instead of revved-up versions of holiday classics, Psychostick serves up eight tracks of holiday insanity including the condemnation of the capitalism of Christmas, a tale of Rudolph going ballistic because of all the crap he puts up with because of his red nose and a jab at New Year's resolutions ("You know that I know that we both know how resolutions end; You know that you are going to give up yet you still pretend").

And it's all done with the furious heavy metal style that the band introduced on their previous CD. In fact, this album is pretty much all metal, unlike "We Couldn't Think of a Title," which threw some other genres in there. (Okay, there may be a little hardcore here as well). In addition, the band throws in much of their trademark humor, although not as much as on the previous record.

There is one revved-up Christmas classic here and it must be heard to be believed. It's the band's 24-second version of "Silent Night," which is anything but silent. Try playing this one at your next Christmas party.

If you've had enough of the piped-in Christmas Muzak played in an endless loop at the local mall, Psychostick's "The Flesh Eating Rollerskate Holiday Joyride" just might be the antidote.

Psychostick: Rob "Rawb" Kersey - lead vocals; Joshua "The J" Key - guitars, vocals; Mike "MikeTheEvil" Kocian - bass, vocals; Alex "Shmalex" Preiss - drums.

For more information, check out http://www.psychostick.com.

"We Couldn't Think of A Title" (Rock Ridge; 2006)

Reviewed by Snidermann

One thing I must have in my life is humor and, if it's not there, I have to find it somewhere. So, when I set about listening to Psychostick's CD, what I got was totally unexpected. The entire release is one joke after another mixed with some very good music, tongue-in-cheek throughout. The artwork is very funny, too, and ties in with the CD's name: "We Couldn't Think of a Title."

Normally, I don't bother listing individual tracks, but I thought in this case it will give you a great idea of what to expect from this band:
ABC Death (the alphabet song put to heavy metal)
Beer
Death Burger
Fake My Own Death
Good Morning
I Hate Laundry
In A Band To Get Chicks
In Decision
Largiloquent Dithgramd
Lizard Sphere
No Pun Intended
Orgasm = Love
Pluh
Prozac Milkshake
Return of The Death Burger
Scrotal Torment
The Jagermeister Love Song
Throwin’ Down
Two Ton Paperweight (a song about a car that is a lemon)
Why Oh Why

If you like a little humor (or maybe a lot!) mixed in with your heavy metal, then Psychostick will be right up your alley.

For more information, check out www.beerbeerbeerbeer.com.

Rating Guide:

A classic. This record will kick your ass.

Killer. Not a classic but it will rock your world.

So-so. You've heard better.

Pretty bad. Might make a nice coaster.

Self explanatory. Just the sight of the cover makes you wanna hurl.

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