Vim Fuego
Let’s get rid of the clichés early: return to form, back to their roots, rediscovering the old fire, like (insert appropriate album here) never happened… Had enough yet?
“But Wait… There’s More!” is the first significant studio output from D.R.I. since the 1995 album “Full Speed Ahead”. It’s pretty fucking good, and it deserves better than some hackneyed stock phrase to describe it. Gone are the dull arsed plodding metal riffs Spike Cassidy churned out through the 1990s, and back are the simple, speedy hardcore sounds which originally propelled D.R.I. to the forefront of the early 80s hardcore and crossover scenes.
A couple of these tracks sound a bit familiar. “Mad Man” and “Couch Slouch” are re-recordings of two tracks which appeared on the band’s first demo, and then on the 1985 album “Dealing With It”. No, they aren’t as fast or chaotic as the original versions, but are infinitely heavier, and it’s still fun to shout “Couch slouch/Fuck off!”
The other three tracks on this EP mesh well with this duo. Kurt Brecht’s shout has always suited the hardcore side of the band’s sound better than their misguided, more metallic sound. He hasn’t tried anything new here, and it works perfectly.
D.R.I. have nothing left to prove, and so don’t even try here. There’s less than ten minutes of music here, and does what every artist wants- it leaves you wanting more. Does this band have another full album left in them? Who knows, and who fucking cares. Here’s “But Wait… There’s More!” Enjoy it.