Jason Savio

One More Time

Blink 182

“You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s almost gone,” sings Mark Hoppus on “You Don’t Know What You’ve Got” off Blink 182’s One More Time. The three punk/pop veterans are back, this time with Tom DeLonge rejoining the band. Their newest effort delivers an album that shows an older and wiser Blink. 

The nostalgia factor is big on One More Time, and it seems Hoppus, DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker have put their differences aside to take stock in what they’ve created together over the years and truly appreciate it and each other. Many of the songs tap into their past, mistakes and all. Take the piano-led ballad title track, when Hoppus makes reference to his battle with cancer and Barker’s near-death plane crash: “I wish they told us/It shouldn’t take a sickness or airplanes falling out the sky,” he sings about making amends, with DeLonge adding, “Do I have to die to hear you miss me?/Do I have to die to hear you say goodbye?” It feels weird to hear coming from the perennial young pop punkers, but the guys in Blink 182 are older now, and they don’t shy away from facing aging and death, nor the fact that they’re lucky to have the chance to play together again. “And I know that next time ain’t always gonna happen/I gotta say I love you while we’re here,” both Hoppus and DeLonge sing together in the title track.

In between the heavier-themed songs are fast, upbeat and catchy tunes, like “Dance with Me” and “Turn This Off!,” that old school fans will enjoy. Blink 182 can still have fun, but they’ve grown up and it shows in their music. They’ve survived near-death experiences and have managed to find each other to make music once again. Hopefully One More Time isn’t their last time. But, if it is, it’s a good note to go out on. 

For more, visit: www.Blink182.com

Dying Fetus

Make Them Beg for Death

Controlled chaos is what comes to mind when listening to Dying Fetus’ new album Make Them Beg for Death. The death metal band from Maryland lives up to their genre, delivering a relentless barrage of fury from beginning to end that will leave your head spinning and wondering what just happened. 

Many of the songs on Make Them Beg for Death twist and turn, sweeping you up into the eye of a mad cyclone. “Compulsion for Cruelty” is a masterclass in how to show technical precision with your instrument while somehow making it all seem like it could combust at any second. Really, the whole album feels like that. It’s dangerous. Numerous breakdowns abound, often resulting in super heavy swings weighty enough to crush concrete. But it’s not just unabashed noise—Make Them Beg for Death is groove oriented. “Feast of Ashes,” “Undulating Carnage” and “Throw Them in the Van” bop, and aren’t only thrashing mayhem. The same can be said for “Unbridled Fury.” Everything can seem all over the place one second and magically come together the very next. The guys in Dying Fetus always land on their feet and find new grooves and melodies to sink their teeth into.

And the lyrics? Let’s just say no one is safe, including people obsessed with their phones in “When the Trend Ends,” as John Gallagher sings, “Imposters, posing puppets, human waste to rot away/Swarming and conforming, their phones never leave their face/Drag them to the altar of punishment/Spill their guts and left to abandonment.” In other words, get off your phone!

For more, visit: Dyingfetusband.com