Album Review from Take 92
800 Octane is retarded. At least, that’s the way you feel about them by the end of the record. They get you all sentimental and sad when you hear “Gather and bow your heads / Say a prayer for the dead,” but you’re laughing at them 30 seconds later. Come to think of it, it’s almost more like a rape. I mean how can this band that I know sound so convincing after all these years? It can’t be some fancy production because you’re not reading my name in the linear notes! It’s the same team that brought you “The Return” and “Rise Again.” Come to think of it, what’s with all the alliteration? Was this planned? Back to the point: For those that don’t know any better, 800 Octane sounds like a well-oiled machine. This is not to say that they aren’t at the top of their game. I mean, the band has never sounded so raw and full of energy in the seven years that I’ve known them. But they actually convince you that there was some preparation involved. This record feels like a live band. That’s not easy to do. Though I was disappointed at the loss of a few great melodies (T-Minus, Great Below), there were also some great surprises. For those that don’t know, I recorded a lot of these songs a year or two ago when they were very new. I didn’t expect that so much of that material would resurface here. The “Guttermouth Song” (Dead End Road) was my biggest surprise, follwed by “Foo Fighters,” which became “Requiem.” The boys are determined to give this thing a proper goodbye and I couldn’t have said it better myself. [And for the record, I haven’t heard the word “pants” so many times in a row since “Live Fast, Diarrhea.”]
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