Neck Snapping, Bone Crunching, Flesh Ripping Euphoria
Written: Jun 25 '01 (Updated Jun 27 '01)
Product Rating:
Pros: Melvin, Chris and Sim [and Theo] provide the backdrop to Rollins awesome vocals.
Cons: Might be too hard, angry, high strung and p*ssed off for most people to enjoy.
The Bottom Line: While not the best release from The Rollins Band it is in a class all it's own - angry, violent and possessed. Great for freeway driving or traffic jams.
Freak369's Full Review: Come in and Burn by Rollins Band
It was a long awaited release, taking four years to be purged from the gutter-like brain of Henry Rollins – yet another bastard child of Rollins lyrical dementia was unleashed on the world. It looked like Liar off the Weight release would be the ‘stand out’ song for Rollins Band, or so the critics thought. Come In And Burn had the same ‘in your face’ attitude but with more attitude, more hate and a lot more anger.
The overall sound of Come In And Burn is more developed, planned and frenzied than Hot Animal Machine [1988] and End of Silence [1992] and shows the ‘maturity’ of the band on a musical level. After 18 years together – and several line up changes – it has the same, hard edged, vulgar sound that fans have come to know and love.
The Tracks
Shame 5:32
An outstanding track – jaw dropping guitar work leads you into the echoed vocals of Rollins – but make no mistake about it – this is more than just you average Rollins song. This is one of the best songs they’ve produced – and as much as I love Henry – he tends to get most of the credit when people are reviewing the bands releases. Chris Haskett and Mevlin Gibbs should stand up and take a huge bow for this piece – it’s piercing, sharp and will make your windows shake. A must hear!
It makes me sick to be so mean
What I've been and what I've seen
From top to bottom, I am obscene
Starve 4:08
Again, Haskett and Gibbs prove that there’s more to the Rollins Band than Henry. Starve was a phenomenal success for the band – they performed it on Saturday Night Live as well as Thrash Central – both times were breathtaking. Sim Cain takes a backseat through this track but without his talent on drums it wouldn’t have the spine to support the weight. Starve gets in your face with the vocals and flesh ripping guitar work and peel off yet another layer of the Rollins Band skin.
I make my blood scream
I kiss my fear on the mouth
I make my blood burn
All I Want 4:42
I can’t listen to this when I am driving – it takes to much self-control to keep me from pounding my fists on the steering wheel and screaming out the lyrics. Rollins vocals switch from standard to muttled then back again, giving it a narrative feel. The lyrics are great and covey the subject matter without mincing words. This should have been a huge hit – for the musical content alone – but then again the mainstream music world couldn’t possibly begin to get the true meaning of the band or the song.
All I want is to somehow matter to you
Even if all else rejects me
All I know is that I'm hammered by the world around me
Please, please, please…. don't destroy me
The End of Something 4:50
While the song starts out slow and almost has you fooled into believing that it will play out that way – it erupts into a loud, bold track that will have you moshing like there’s no tomorrow. This song is all Haskett – his guitar work is sensational! In the first half of the song, the vocals are projected in a spoken word fashion that transfers over to some hard-core singing then back to spoken word. It’s a little too deep for most people to reach – but if you at least try this song out – you might just understand a little of it.
When you see that the time
we spent together meant nothing
And you couldn't make me stay
On My Way To The Cage 3:20
A faster than normal track, not exactly as hard – but defiantly louder than 80% of the stuff The Rollins Band has put out so far. The beat is absolute mayhem – frenzied and thrashing with an insane bass line that is guaranteed to inflict damage. While the guitar work is excellent it often gets lost in the music and vocals [sorry Henry]. One of my top ten Rollins Band songs – great to play during traffic on the freeway – if you want to start punching the windshield that is.
On my way to the cage
The taste of blood is in my mouth
On my way to the cage
The fear is in their eyes
Thursday Afternoon 4:05
Typical Rollins Band sound on this cut, it still has the primal, ‘cornered animal’ feeling but the band went for performance and material over volume. Sometimes no matter how much you shout the message still doesn’t get delivered – but with Rollin’s cross over between singing, spoken word and shouting – you’d have to be a daft fool not to get the point he’s trying to make.
I've spent so many nights punching that wall
Show me the difference between decision and denial
I want to know why I ask why
During A City 3:40
This travels down the same alley as Thursday Afternoon with a storytelling / spoken word vocal throw down that insures a strained case of emotional whiplash. This song has a slight blues undertone – mostly due to the throbbing, deep bass work of Melvin. It song overall feels dirty – like you have to take a shower after you listen – and that’s just the point the song is trying to make.
Dirty grey city dropping rain down in my dreams
Neon 4:08
If you ever wanted to know what neon sounded like on a musically level – check out this track. A punch in the gut aria that is filled to the brim with malevolence, animosity and a dark passion that only Rollins himself can pen. The beat is a bit slower than most songs but it delivers a plate full of blood, guts and compound fractures. A lesser-known song that really deserved more attention.
You're my main incinerator
Kick the door down when you come
Tear the roof off when you leave
Spilling Over The Side 3:45
One of the loudest songs off of Come In And Burn, this track erupts from the very start and only gets more vehement as the story unfolds. There are a few spots where the music completely overtakes the vocals – I guess that’s retribution for all the times Henry’s vocals blew everything else away [sorry Henry]. Not one of my favorite tracks off this release but it’s hardly a bomb either.
Desperation crept in …
From all the things I've kept in
Inhale Exhale 3:39
For some odd reason the bass work on the intro sounds hauntingly like a Rush song – anyone else notice this? Inhale Exhale is another song that walks back and forth between singing and spoken word – giving it a lot more depth than if it were just sung. Some extremely strong bass work literally snaps your neck backwards – the guitar work is there – just buried a little. The lyrics are a little skimpy but sometimes less is more.
Inhale Tolerance
Exhale Judgment
Inhale What I am
Exhale What I think I am
Saying Goodbye Again 3:34
One of the few pieces that Henry wrote regarding the death of his friends. I wish I could say that this song was great but it just lacks the usual bitterness you grew accustomed to on this release. It shows a little more of Henry’s emotions but the music does little to get the point across with a fury.
There it is on the news
Someone I know is now someone I knew
I can't believe it happened again
Another mound another one down
Rejection 4:36
A great song to give to someone if they are crying on your shoulder about someone who broke up with them. Face it; no one really likes to have the phone ring at 2 am with a friend crying about love gone wrong. Not exactly the best song to close a CD with but it’s a run of the mill release for the band. Great guitar work and an honorable mention to Sim for drums.
Now I'm alone and I'm burning
I'm hurting like hell but I'm learning
The scars will take me far like they always do
The Bottom Line
Come In And Burn is a awesome piece of work; musically, vocally and emotionally. Some releases sound great the first five or six time you listen to them then seem to lose some of the thrill. Rest assured; that won’t happen with this CD. It’s a pile driving piece of work – guaranteed to get your heart racing and take your blood pressure through the roof. A must have for fans of Rollins – get it or get out.
Not much in the way of extras on this release. The inner jacket sleeve has a great band photo in the middle but lacks lyrics or afterthoughts that were included on other releases. You get the usual ‘thank you’ and ‘props out to’ section along with a mention of the fan club and merchandise information and that’s about it.
An interesting side note about the X-Rays that were featured on the cover and inner jacket sleeve. They are actual X-rays that were supplied by Gramercy Radiology Group at the hand of Geoff Spear. While the ‘model’ shown was never given credit, some people said it was Henry and a few others named Chris Haskett [guitar] as the lucky victim. If you have any information, please feel free to include it in the comment section and I’ll revise the review and give you credit for the info.
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