LAST CALL IN JONESTOWN

I honestly didn't know what to expect from this record after the slightly disappointing Sex Offender, which was a solid record but far from the band's magnificent debut album Purgatory Dance Party. After hearing some of the samples that were released through the band's record company's YouTube-channel, things got even more confusing since I really loved the title track (Last Call In Jonestown) and Transistors Of Mercy, featuring Neil Fallon on guest vocals, while Impure Thoughts and Touch You Like Caligula left me with a somewhat discontent feeling.

When I finally got my hands on my copy of the pre-order, I must have played the album at least 15 times over the course of the first week. This was a pretty impressive task since Leprous released Coal just a few days later, which meant that I had two of my favorite bands release their records almost simultaneously! At first, Last Call In Jonestown sounded like a continuation of Sex Offender, featuring some solid material but being nowhere near as impressive as the band's debut record. Fortunately, my initial impression began to turn for the better with repeated spins as I began to find more pleasure within even some of the initially less memorable songs.

Besides the, previously mentioned, awesome opening title track and Transistors Of Mercy, there were a few more hidden gems within this set of 12 songs. Lunatic was initially my obvious choice, clearly giving it's title a run for it's money, for this record's biggest hidden surprise while short but very memorable Epilogue made me what to hear more of where that track came from! Ultimately, I'd say that Animal Kingdom is this album's biggest surprise. It's just such a beautiful piece of music that reminds me a bit of the marvelous God Crisis from Dog Fashion Disco's third album The Embryo's In Bloom.

It's safe to say that Last Call In Jonestown has grown on me over time and I now consider it to be a vast improvement over Sex Offender, still there's just not enough content here that would justify the essential rating. This is why I give this record a very strong rating of excellence with a high recommendation to fans of experimental metal music. Looking forward to more of where this music came from!

***** star songs: Last Call In Jonestown (4:02) Lunatic (4:01) Animal Kingdom (4:18) Transistors Of Mercy (5:26) Epilogue (2:50)

**** star songs: Phantasmagoria (4:15) Painkiller (3:50) Sheer Madness (2:46) Impure Thoughts (4:11) All The Kings Men (3:48)

*** star songs: Touch You Like Caligula (5:22) Rats And Black Widows (3:10)