Oh dear Lord, this is absolutely not for me. However, I try to remain professional so I will do my damnedest to write a review. Crossover is not my cup-o-tea, and it never has been. I went through a million musical phases growing up, and touched just about every base under the sun, but Crossover simply never appealed to me. I’ve been into Punk, I’ve been into Hardcore, and I’ve been into Thrash. I still like Punk from time to time, could do without Hardcore now, and melodic Thrash is a great genre. But as soon as you combine Punk, Hardcore and Thrash in the genre known as Crossover, all I hear is noise.

And that is exactly what I hear in MUNICIPAL WASTE’s “The Art Of Partying”…lots of noise. I suppose the gang vocals are a little enjoyable at times, as are the occasionally slowed-down groove sections. And somewhere in all the chaos are some decent musicians, or least musicians who are good at playing fast. There’s also a really good melodic solo (although too short) in the otherwise stupid “Beer Pressure”. I could also see how this music would be fun at a drunken bash, but I’m really not much of a partier, so that aspect is lost on me as well.

My lack of a desire to party also blocks me from enjoying the (possibly) tongue-in-cheek lyrics, which deal with such deep topics as getting drunk and partying (who’d have guessed?). I like my lyrics a little more serious, you know, dealing with dragons and knights and elves and magic and stuff. I’m a Power Metaller after all.

I mulled over not giving “The Art Of Partying” a rating, since I openly admit that this is anything but my favored style of Metal, but decided to go ahead and give it one anyway. But please don’t read anything into the rating, as most seem to love MUNICIPAL WASTE. Fans of Crossover can probably safely add five to six points.

(Online September 8, 2007)