When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
Snacks (Emperor Jones)
Reviewed by Darcie Stevens, Fri., Nov. 3, 2006
When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth
Snacks (Emperor Jones)
Local sevenpiece When Dinosaurs Ruled the Earth is beyond definition. Crash bam boom. Pop metal noise. Start stop holler. Whatever. The Tuxedo Killers-Awesome Cool Dudes combo is loud, jittery, and – get this – completely in control. Where most noise bands spit and sputter above a staccato guitar spurt, Dinos play with time changes, melody, and power. Don't let opening number "Glee Club" fool you, either. These aren't well-behaved boys. That becomes apparent as soon as George Dishner's percussive vox drives into "1-2-3 Pissmop." Where his volume ends, Jesse Hodges' creepy melody begins. The two vocalists combine with dual guitar attack, bass, and double drummers Daniel Francis Doyle and Brandon Crowe. "Let's All Get Fades" presents that metal-pop cocktail with a PBR chaser, but "Saturday Morning Caveman" investigates structure a bit more: "That's just how we roll." Sure, some silliness is involved ("The Triumphant Spirit of the Olympics," the sticky sweet "Los Laundry Boys") and even some psych-metal wankery (closer "Bananafana"), but Dinos' Snacks is a bit of mad-scientist brilliance put through monster amps. And at only 26 and a half minutes long, odds are the album is longer than any live Dinos show you might be lucky enough to attend.
