Lagwagon
Blaze

THE REVIEW

After a good 6 years since the last production under the Fat Wreck Chords label, released in 1997 (in the meantime, the 5 Californians decided to take a nice break, releasing an EP and a particularly unique collection of unreleased songs titled Let's Talk About Leftovers featuring tracks in true metal style; I would recommend it to those who are true fans of the band), Lagwagon returns with an album full of great tracks marked by their unmistakable sound.

Blaze primarily presents a noticeable improvement in audio quality, which is more refined and cleaner compared to the previous Let's Talk About Feelings. Furthermore, one can already notice from the first track "Burn" that this time the group has not spared the technique, proving they know how to play interesting and well-organized solos. There are 14 songs in total, some really great, others a bit out of place in my opinion. The most suitable rating would indeed be around 4.5. The CD opens with "Burn", seemingly calm, which, when it reaches the time to show its true nature, turns into a real punk hardcore frenzy. The pieces that offer the greatest demonstration of creativity from Lagwagon are, besides "Burn," the frenetic "Dancing The Collapse," the amusing "Falling Apart," for which a really hilarious video was shot, the wild "Dinner And A Movie," and the anthem of never giving up "Never Stops." The songs revolve mainly around this typical punk structure, but there are some, as I already mentioned, that seem not to mix well in the context of the CD. For example, the very silly "E Dagger" or "I Must Be Hateful," which seems to be a Blink 182 cover, or even the insignificant "Billy Club," which, aside from its very catchy chorus, is nothing more than a song heard and reheard. Now, I don't mean to say that these tracks are unworthy of being listened to, otherwise my score would be exaggerated, but in my opinion, they remain the flaw of an otherwise perfect CD (it even rhymes!!!).

I want to clarify that I don't review punk CDs just to get insults, but only because I like this genre. I listen to a lot of other different music and I am also very objective. For example, if Tiziano Ferro made a good song, I would accept it, obviously, it will never happen, but I would notice anyway. See you!!! Until next time!!!!!