ASG

The Amplification of Self Gratification (2003)

Jim

Well this is something different. ASG mixes some diverse sounds together, from Queens of the Stone Age and The Foo Fighters to Metallica and In Flames. I find that they rely heavily on the American metal style over the course of this album, with bits of punk and rock thrown in for good measure.

"The Amplification of Self Gratification" makes a good soundtrack for late night driving, that is, cruising around with the windows down and trying to feel like badass. As you're driving, some guy with a mullet grins and flashes the devil horns. Some of this stuff is pretty cheesy, but in an endearing way instead of in an annoying way. These guys know how to play as well; they've got a huge sound for being a 3 piece band. I like this album, I don't make practice of listening to this type of band very often but in a case like this I can make an exception.

It's far from perfect though. One major I gripe I have with this is that there is too much time spent building up to the verses, too many instrumental passages. Some bands can get away with this, ASG can't. Not that their sound isn't interesting, but they don't hold my attention well enough without some vocals added to the mix. When they cut to the chase and actually work with a greater punk influence on their sound as in the song "One Less Crutch" the results are overwhelmingly positive. If the band were to concentrate on more songs of this style I see no reason why they wouldn't have a large fan base in the future.

I'd recommend this to you if you want to see what a mixture of sing along metal and sing along punk would sound like. This album is by no means short of toe tapping moments, but a little more focus would be appreciated. ASG could very well be the band that makes people sit up and actually take Volcom seriously as a record label.