I thought Waltham mega-punks Morgan Knockers had neglected to send me Loss of Reality when it came out last month. Then I discovered it while foraging through my garbage for recyclables. It seems my roommate has been throwing out my mail.
Being a subscriber to the eye-for-an-eye principle, I drank all his vodka. Take that, Josh! Speaking of malice — didn't Morgan Knockers used to be all about a boozy, jolly time? Since when do they sing about angst, other people's drug problems, and the ugliness in Darfur? Let us wag our fingers at guitarist/singer Nick Repassy for the lyric "Too many people fuckin' with my head/Gotta get out before I'm dead."
But in the same song, "Lost in the Night," he earns a high-five for writing "Depression, anxiety, no calls back from the record company." Skater-friendly punk with metal and hardcore interludes isn't the most innovative stylistic direction. Nonetheless, I'm plenty happy I rescued Loss of Reality from the trash. The effervescent, righteously indignant "Denial" oughta provoke some treacherous circle pits. And awesome-ass closing track "Burn" begins as a weepy acoustic ditty, transforms into a Metallica song after two minutes, then goes berserk in a flurry of double kick pedal and geet crunchin' 30 seconds later. Fuckin' epic.
