Review: Buckcherry, "F**k"

Sometimes there’s a fine line between throwing a middle finger to the world and a desperate plea for attention. It doesn’t take much thought to decide which category Buckcherry’s EP Fuck falls into.

A concept album of sorts, if having the f-word in every song title can qualify as a concept, this EP seeks to play on the somewhat dumbfounding success the band had with the single “Crazy Bitch.”

When Buckcherry released their self-titled debut in 1998, I bought it. I still own it and listen to a couple of the songs on occasion. I thought it was a fun little bit of retro hard rock. Like most of the rest of the world, I promptly forgot about the band until 2006, when all of a sudden, you couldn’t seem to escape them.

15 Years, 15 Records: 1999, Jeff Waters annihilates the competition

Annihilator’s debut record Alice in Hell blew me away in 1989. The blend of technical thrash, cool melodies and extreme metal style aggression was a kick in the pants. I also enjoyed the follow up, Never, Neverland with Omen vocalist Coburn Pharr on the mic. Then came the third record, Set the World on Fire, with yet another vocalist. It had a lighter sound, and I just was not at all impressed with the voice of Aaron Randall. I wandered away from the band and missed a few records.

Then, in 1999, I heard that founder Jeff Waters was putting the Alice in Hell lineup back together, and I was intrigued. The result was Criteria for a Black Widow, featuring three-fourths of the band responsible for their classic debut (bassist Wayne Darley didn’t return). Though my reaction to this record wasn’t quite as profound as the one to Alice in Hell, I was still impressed. This album brought the power back to the band and gave us some great new Annihilator tunes in the style of their first two records.