PUNKY BRÜSTER — Cooked On Phonics (review)

PUNKY BRÜSTER — Cooked On Phonics album cover

Album · 1996 · Metal Related

3.5/5 · 2023-07-22
UMUR

"Cooked on Phonics" is the debut full-length studio album by Canadian metal/punk act Punky Brüster, which is a project by Devin Townsend. The album was released through HevyDevy Records (Townsend´s own label) in March 1996. It bridges the gap between the debut full-length studio album "Heavy as a Really Heavy Thing" (April 1995, Century Media Records) by Townsend´s extreme metal project Strapping Young Lad and his first solo album "Ocean Machine: Biomech" (July 1997, HevyDevy Records).

"Cooked on Phonics" is a concept comedy metal/punk rock album, and it´s not a project Townsend has resurrected since, so this is the sole release by Punky Brüster. It tells the story of fictional death metal act Cryptic Coroner, who by chance start playing punk rock (which at times sounds suspiciously much like Green Day), find out that there´s money to be made, and then change their name to Punky Brüster. Much of the story is spend making fun of the members of the band trying to adapt to their new punk rockstar roles ("Heinous Anus" is for example about the band members having a nervous stomach before Grammy night), their greedy/stupid/arrogant management, and the stupidity of their fans/groupies. It´s a completely over the top story, ridiculously silly, but also quite funny and entertaining. Townsend´s taking the piss on both the clichés of death metal and punk rock here in great style.

...what people should know about "Cooked on Phonics" is that other than the silly/funny story/narrative, the album actually features some very well performed, well composed, and energetic punk rock (and occasionally death metal, harcore, crossover, heavy metal). According to Townsend (said at the end of closing track "Larry's O") the album took a week-and-a-half to write, six days to record, and 12 hours to mix. So it´s a testimony to the skills of Townsend that he can pull an album like this up his hat in such a short period of time, almost without breaking a sweat. He has also managed to create a very well sounding production in such a short time.

The musicianship is on a high level throughout the album. Townsend (vocals/guitars) and his cohorts (J. R. Harder on bass/vocals and Adrian White on drums) play precise, raw, and intense, and although this is a sarcastic comedy release, the band manage to sound both passionate and convincing. They may take the piss on punk rock, but they sure know how to perform it. Townsend´s vocals are incredibly well performed and it´s great to hear him let rip with a raw voice which is often on the verge of screaming, but generally not quite as extreme as his vocals on Strapping Young Lad.

Upon conclusion "Cooked on Phonics" is a greatly entertaining release, and it´s unfortunately often overlooked by fans of Townsend. This has all his crazy humor plastered all over it, great musiciaship, production values, and some very decent songwriting too. It´s well worth the price of admission, and I can highly recommend it. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.