MF RUCKUS
The Front Lines Of Good Times Vol. I
(Heavy Metal | Hard Rock)
Label: Glory Or Death Records
Format: (LP)
Release: 21.07.2023
In 2016, the signs for MF RUCKUS – you can guess or google what MF means – were still in for a storm. The strong “Thieves Of Thunder” was released again and they actually wanted to pursue it in 2017 with the work on the successor and various tours. Then you were also on the road with STEEL PANTHER and had numerous ideas. But then the relationship with longtime guitarist Parker Meehan broke up and singer Aaron Howell surprisingly lost his brother. But that’s not all, because the band had to mourn a whole dozen losses of friends and relatives in the year. Everyone knows what happened from 2020 and not only that the (music) world stood still, labels, sales and management also vanished into thin air for the American rockers.
But now the happy ending, because now “The Front Lines Of Good Times Vol. I” finally sees the light of day after such a long time. And the wait was definitely worth it. The gentlemen from MF RUCKUS just can’t and don’t want to be pigeonholed or rather they force you to chop everything up into many small parts and then divide them into numerous drawers.
The opener and title track rocks well, is authentically and old-school produced and just begs for a live performance. In terms of riffs, one is often reminded of AUDREY HORNE and thus immediately of THIN LIZZY and IRON MAIDEN. The gentlemen from Denver, Colorado clearly have bumblebees up their ass and are very enthusiastic about playing. “Acropolis Now” is closer to traditional Heavy Metal, goes well forward and invites you to sing along and “Be Cool” surprises with its punk and HC attitude, but could also have been created in cooperation with TANKARD.
On the other hand, the rhythmic “Equilibrium” gets crazier and true metal tunes are found on “Making A Killing”. There is also fast thrashing on “You Only Live Forever” and “Polly Anne Marie” is pure Rock’n’Roll. It’s unbelievable what bandwidth MF RUCKUS have and yet somehow everything fits together. Of course, this is held together by the singer, who also skilfully mimics the country singer on “Someday (I’ll Be Better Than You)”.
If that’s not enough, the raw garage rocker “It’s A Mess”, the heavy punk track “Insect Swarm” which is said to be inspired by Dungeons & Dragons “Insect Swarm”, the calmer “The Call” and the playful “Tres Reyes” features four more previously unreleased tracks. And all of them maintain the enormous level effortlessly. MF RUCKUS is a band that delivers against all odds. Creative, playful and somehow unique despite audible influences. Well done guys!
Tracklist „The Front Lines Of Good Times Vol. I“:
1. The Front Lines Of Good Times
2. Acropolis Now
3. Be Cool
4. Equilibrium
5. Making A Killing
6. Someday (I’ll Be Better Than You)
7. Polly Anne Marie
8. It’s A Mess (Bonus)
9. Insect Swarm (Bonus)
10. The Call (Bonus)
11. Three Kings (Bonus)
Total playing time: 40:19
Band-Links:
MF RUCKUS – The Front Lines Of Good Times Vol. I7.5…Buy on Amazon{“@context”: “http://schema.org/”,
“@type”: “Organization”,
“name”: “MF RUCKUS – The Front Lines Of Good Times Vol. I”,”image”: [
“https://earshot.at/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/mfruckus_letthegood.jpg”
],”review”: {
“@type”: “Review”,
“reviewRating”: {
“@type”: “Rating”,
“worstRating”: “0”,
“ratingValue”: “7.5”,
“bestRating”: “10”
},
“author”: {
“@type”: “Person”,
“name”: “Maxomer”
}
}}
The post MF RUCKUS – The Front Lines Of Good Times Vol. I appeared first on earshot.at.