Search - Trust Obey :: Fear & Bullets

Jax M. (Destructa) from SAN JOSE, CA
Reviewed on 12/3/2007...

Even a casual fan of James O'Barr's The Crow will want this experience. Epic darkwave cowritten by O'Barr and John Bergin (Trust Obey), w/guest from Paved in Skin. This album was originally a rare exclusive packaged with a limited deluxe hardcover Crow collection, but was re-released on its own with a limited poster print of O'Barr's first ever Crow drawing.
And as for the music itself? Dark industrial at times resembling Nine Inch Nails, Cubanate and any number of coldwave/doom metal bands. The last 2 tracks re atmospheric soundtrack-type pieces. I only wish the vocals were a bit louder in the mix--when he's calm, Bergin sounds like Curse Mackey of Evil Mothers. My favorite track of the bunch is "Blessing of the Pig" with its midpoint meltdown and subsequent revenge of resurrected guitars.

The soundtrack that should've been...

10/26/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I heard some of the songs from the original version of this CD that was released with the limited edition hardcover of THE CROW graphic novel. After purchasing Trust Obey's last album and anticipating the re-release of "Fear & Bullets" for almost 2 years, I have to say that this album is a breath of fresh air in comparison to the last album."Hands of Ash" was a good album that I think probably suffered because of John Bergin's evac from Nothing Records (can you imagine that Nothing didn't know what to do with his material?). All of the songs sounded alike, ten minute long mostly instrumental hardcore anthems that is more likely to crush the bones and incite riots. Now we have the follow-up, the remix/re-recording of "Fear & Bullets." There are some new tracks here, and some reworkings of old tracks. In relation to the previous album, this has more shorter songs that do not lack in agression, but somehow carry more emotion."Lead Poisoning," "Seven Blackbirds," "The Tides of Sin," "Fear and Bullets," and "The Blessing of the Pig" are the longer tracks, which mirrors "Hands of Ash"'s formula, but for some reason, these songs are more appealing and easier to listen to. "C17H19NO3" (a piece that apparently scores a gunfight scene in the comic), is appropriately fastpaced, loud, with distorted vocals (sung in an almost punk style screaming). It immediately grabs you and throws you over the edge of a monolithic tower of guitar-driven pain. The same can be said for "True Love Always," which apparently inspired segments of the end gunfight and carchase in the comic. "Sleeping Angel (The Dreaming)" is my favorite track for more reasons than one: a) It is the most different, carrying a goth bassline with ambient synthesizers and a sad yet heart-warming melody sung by Paved in Skin's (another John Bergin-related band) Patrick McBride. (this song is the "It Can't Rain All the Time" for this album); b) the original version of this song was much grungier, carried by guitars more reminiscent of Jesus & Mary Chain. "A Murder of Crows" is also a deviant from the typical Trust Obey hardcore formula. With a dirge-like beat, sinister whispered vocals (which end up making the song sound like Marilyn Manson...in a good way, if that can be said), this is a rather scary song. Finally, the two instrumentals, "The Crow," and "Now, Forever." I'm not sure as to whether or not these were newly written, but if they were it would certainly explain their remarkable similarity to Graeme Revell's score music for the films. They are very dark, ambient, and even frightening, but they carry the atmosphere of the Crow with great emotion and power.The less formulaic approach on this album and the reworkings of the old songs (unfortunately, all copies of the original limited edition version of this album are no longer available, not even from John Bergin himself), make this a step above "Hands of Ash." There are still some moments of boredom in the grinding guitars and repetitive vocals that sound like Bergin swallowed a tanker of broken glass. The lyrics are not much better, considering they made better poems than song lyrics (most were written by James O'Barr, taken directly out of the pages of the comic, while others were written by Bergin...which is not saying much when taking into account the sloppy lyrics of the previous album). However, as a soundtrack to a comic book (an unorthodox medium in itself), it is exceptional. The songs carry a very visual atmosphere, making the listener actually SEE the sequences in the pages of THE CROW. There are times when I feel this should've been the soundtrack to the first film (not that the soundtracks to the films are not great...they are!!!), but overall I would give this album five stars for its improvement on John Bergin's style, its innovative concept, and for just being a damn good album!"

A "must have" for any fan of the crow

Joseph J. Mclaughlin | Sacramento, California | 05/19/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a big fan of "The Crow" movies and soundtracks. When I saw this CD, I purchased it mainly for the novelty of it. To be honest, this CD took some time for me to warm up to. It does not have the mainstream bands/titles on it that have gotten radio time like on the soundtrack of "The Crow" and "The Crow - Salvation" I'd say this CD comes somewhere between the original "Crow" CD and the instrumental "Crow" soundtrack by Graeme Revell. "Fear and Bullets" has good vocals and good instrumental tracks. Now that I've warmed up to the CD, it's probably one of my personal favorites in my collection. If you enjoyed the dark tones in the other crow soundtrack CDs, you will like this album."