CoC : Johnny Truant - Repercussions of a Badly Planned Suicide : Review

Johnny Truant - _Repercussions of a Badly Planned Suicide_
(Undergroove, 2003)
by: Xander Hoose (8 out of 10)

I'm always sceptical when the press announce a band to be 'the next big thing'. Well, in the noisecore scene, Johnny Truant has been called so by more than one magazine, so I was anxious to find out if _Repercussions of a Badly Planned Suicide_ would live up to my expectations. The album contains a mere seven songs, but clocking around 50 minutes altogether they can hardly be blamed for writing simple songs -- au contraire. _RoaBPS_ is very multi-layered, dense, and manages to portray a great diversity within the individual songs while still sounding spacious. Not for a moment do the individual instruments blend together; they're all carved out sharply in the mix. Excellent. Musically I'm very much reminded of noisecore mates Coalesce, Converge and Knut. Which is where I'll have to make a strong point against Johnny Truant: even though they're very skilled and professional players, there is not really anything on _RoaBPS_ that I haven't heard before by their competition. For instance, incorporating clean vocals is nice, but done before by Drowningman; the superb incorporation of breaks into the music is something Dillinger Escape Plan is renowned for... I could go on citing references but the point is clear: Johnny Truant is an excellent band that has brought us an excellent album, but they're not the next big thing. For now, my money is set on the next Dillinger Escape Plan album with their new vocalist, but those who cannot wait for that have a very good temporary alternative with _Repercussions of a Badly Planned Suicide_.

Contact: http://www.johnnytruant.co.uk

(article published 3/6/2003)