Freak369's Full Review: An Answer Can Be Found by CKY
After really getting into some previous material from CKY, I was really curious to hear “An Answer Can Be Found”. The thing that really gets me about CKY is that most people dismiss it as ‘skater music’ without ever giving it a chance. Infiltrate, Destroy, Rebuild was something that really blew me away the first time I heard it; harder than I expected it to be but flowing nicely. I wasn’t sure that they would be able to get that same “balanced intensity” with this release but now that I’ve had it for a while and listened to it repeatedly I can say that it’s a lot better than I expected it to be. It’s hard to compare their music to other groups but suffice it to say if you liked the stuff you heard on any of the home video releases of Viva La Bam [Bam and Jess are brothers], you’ll get into what’s on this release. If you liked what you heard in IDR in the way of the guitar work, beat and bass then you’ll probably get into what this release offers. The lyrics are just as interesting as previous releases and will give fans a chance to dig deep into the groups core.
The Tracks
Suddenly Tragic
The Way You Lived
Dressed In Decay
Familiar Realm
All Power To Slaves
Triple Maniac State
Behind The Screams
Deceit Is Striking Gold
As The Tables Turn
Sniped
Don’t Hold Your Breath
I’ve gotten into a really bad habit of listening to the first and last track of a CD when I get it; I want a powerful opening and something memorable to close things out. “Suddenly Tragic” is a great way to open things up and set the tone and pace for things but “Don’t Hold Your Breath” really blew me away. It’s a lot softer than what you would expect from this group and the first time I heard it I thought I clicked off the CD and hit the radio button. This might not be something that some people will be able to get into because it sounds like something you might expect from Nickleback or Staind. “Suddenly Tragic” packs that same intensity as “Plastic Plan” and “Escape From Hellview” - in other words, the signature sound of the group. Some fans see this as a negative - that the group never really strays from that specific sound but on the same token, they are the same people that get their panties in a bunch when a group drastically changes their sound.
So the opening and closing tracks are impressive, but what about what’s in the middle? “The Way You Lived” is definitely one to check out if you are looking for something a little slower in beat but with the same style of CKY. The lyrics are slick, the music flows and it’s enhanced with some nice background vocals. “Dressed In Decay” was sort of a let down for me; I was hoping for something darker and a little morbid based on the title of the track. That’s not to say that there is anything wrong with it, it just didn’t have what I expected from it. The lyrics really lead you to think that you are going to get something slightly depressing but the music doesn’t really back it up. If I could pick one song off this release to be overhauled, this one would be it. They do have a nice start with it, but it needs grittier vocals, more guitar and a stronger sound. Tell me what you would expect from a song that has lyrics like this ...
She does not see the pulsing veins
She does not feel her own restraints
Before the eyes the beauty is wasting away
Reflections praise, she’s dressed in decay
One of the harder songs on this is “Triple Maniac State” - if I were in the studio with them I would have really pushed the guitars a little more. With throaty vocals here and there, you can still peg it as a CKY song because of Miller’s voice but if you stripped that away, most wouldn’t be able to place the music. An interesting thing to add about this release is that they claim that no synthesizers or keyboards were used on this release. I could have sworn that I picked up on some in a few tracks but I guess that’s post production vocals - still - I have to wonder whether they snuck some in on “Dressed In Decay”. Another hard song is “As The Tables Turn”, it goes off the usual path if the CKY sound with an ever-present guitar riff and fast beat. Again, I could have sworn that I heard keyboards during this song but without twenty thousand dollars worth of equipment I can’t split the music up to really be sure. The one thing that I really love about this song is that it is solid from start to finish. Even when the vocals relax a little, the music is still strong and intense.
There is no room to improve
There’s no demand for the product of your next move
Fuel you were using to burn
Is charring you in return
I almost crapped my pants when “Sniped” came on. I wasn’t expecting them to put out something this hard or intense. I hate to keep using those two words to describe tracks but those are the only ones that I can come up with. Ginsburg and Miller do an exceptional job with the vocals - and if you have never heard this track - you might find it hard to believe that it’s a Camp Kill Yourself number. You might never hear the words ‘death metal’ and ‘CKY’ used in the same sentence, but I’m going to have to say it here. If you played this on alternative radio people would eat this up and ask for more. This is by far one of the hardest songs from them and something that really shows their growth from their first release. Now don’t go getting all torqued thinking that the whole CD is like this - it’s just one song and I don’t think they are going to cross over to the death metal scene. Since you can still understand a few of the word here and there I guess this can’t really be called a death metal track but damn, it’s as close to it as you are going to get.
The Bottom Line
The version I picked up is an ECD however I couldn’t access these features on my computer. When I would pop it in I would get an application error stating that there wasn’t enough free memory to run it. I tried this on a few other computers and got the same message so I think I got a defective disc. That doesn’t stop me from popping this in and enjoying the music but it would have been nice to be able to access whatever was on the ECD part of it. If you are into CKY’s other stuff then give this a try, they did a great job all the way around with this. About the only downside is the lyrics on the jacket, could they possibly have been printed any smaller? I’m still hoping that I’ll be able to get the ECD portion working at some point in time, until then I’ll continue to dig into some meaty, beefy and tasty CKY. Don’t let a few of my comments about songs like “Dressed In Decay” dissuade you from checking this out - I’d rather come off sounding a little harsh about a CD than to candy coat it and tell you that it’s perfect. It has a lot of variety to it so no matter what kind of a mood you are in, there’s something for you on “An Answer Can Be Found”
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