Albums by this artist

Ink and Dagger (2001)

Ink and Dagger

» MATT KALOGERAKIS | STAFF WRITER

Ink and Dagger

Ink and Dagger

Buddyhead, 2001

RiYL: Murder City Devils, The Icarus Line, Swiz

For those of you who have never heard of Philadelphia's Ink and Dagger, allow me to paint a picture. The band members, who claimed to be vampires, dressed up in makeup and played obnoxious, heavy, loud music by the light of a single strobe light. And it was great... Well, at least it was great for avid fans such as myself.

There were always break-up rumors, which were more than likely started by the Ink and Dagger members themselves. But the band finally called it quits on Friday, March 26th, 1999, and left folks like me longing for more.

Then last year, at the beginning of September, I got an email from a friend who told me Sean McCabe, the lead singer and brains behind the band, had passed away. One of my personal heroes was dead at 27.

I've waited a long time for this album to come out and now I am sadly disappointed after finally hearing it. While I don't really want to talk bad about the record, there isn't much good to say. The recording is terrible. Most of the music on here is either unimaginative or just lacking the typical Ink and Dagger energy. All in all, it just comes off kind of, well, boring.

There are a few times on this record when it's difficult to tell what direction the music is going in. Take the energy-less fourth track, "The Lines Of Lies." The vocals are sung like an annoying drone with strange accent, while the production really hurts the way the guitar sounds. "Creatures Like Us" is pretty much the same deal, with the exception of a few good parts when Sean really lets loose vocally. The last track, "Facedreamer," also sounds like this, except it has even less energy and tortures you for more than seven minutes.

Thankfully, there are at least a couple of good songs. "Part Time Prophet" is a prime example of the old Ink and Dagger sound. The guitars and drums are played with a wonderfully chaotic delivery, while the vocals are yelled in a barely coherent fashion, as McCabe blurts out classic lines like, "your teeth are rotted from all the shit you said/just a part time prophet trying to rise from the dead."

But these songs don't warrant a purchase. And anyone just getting into Ink and Dagger should definitely try one of their first two albums, which are far more enjoyable.

MATT KALOGERAKIS |