Review: M.O.D. - "Red, White and Screwed"

Though they were never one of my favorite bands, I grew up listening to M.O.D. in the 1980s, and I got a good chuckle out of their last record, 2003’s The Rebel You Love to Hate. You see, that’s the M.O.D. that I like – the tongue in cheek, bordering on goofy band that made fun of the 1980s obsession with image, that makes fun of white kids who think they’re from the ’hood, that makes fun of bands that take themselves too seriously. Here, though, on a few occasions it seems to me that Billy Milano is taking himself a little too seriously.

There's still some fun to be had with the name-dropping “Alphabet City Stomp” and “The Greatest Lie Ever Told,” which opens with a Tenacious D-like intro then takes shots at Metallica and King Diamond (and features Milano doing a pretty funny almost spot-on King Diamond impression.) Other humor numbers, like “Jose Can You See?,” a tirade against illegal immigrants, don’t work quite so well. There are also plenty of nods to other bands scattered around the record, most notably a tip of the hat to early Suicidal Tendencies on “Bullshit Politics.” It makes me want to go back and pull out that first ST record.

M.O.D. has always brought a good mix of thrash and hardcore. For this record, though, Milano leans more on the hardcore side, and it has the same problem that I’ve always had with hardcore: To me, it all sounds the same. I readily admit that I’ve never really gotten hardcore, and I don’t understand it. To me, it’s all a chuggy riff and a guy yelling. Maybe what’s here is good, maybe it’s not, (though I do suspect real hardcore fans would find it a little too derivative) but there’s not much for a thrash guy like me to grab onto.

Red, White and Screwed isn’t a bad record, but I’m not likely to revisit it very often. I miss the fun of the band’s previous records, and the songs, for the most part are just mediocre. Still, you have to admire the fact that Milano speaks his mind, even when what he’s saying may turn off potential listeners. There’s something to be said for that.

Read my review of M.O.D.'s "Rebel You Love to Hate."

Get "Red, White and Screwed."

Review: M.O.D., "The Rebel You Love to Hate"

On M.O.D.'s latest album, the first since 1996's "Dictated Aggression," he takes the music in a different direction. After watching, of all things, "Weird Al" Yankovic's "Behind the Music," Milano was inspired to introduce parody and satire into M.O.D.'s arsenal. He's done it well on "Rebel You Love to Hate."

It starts on the cover with parodies of Michael Schenker Group and Kiss covers, and continues with the music. He takes on all-comers, with jabs at rapper Eminem, German rockers Rammstein and, of course, the easiest target in entertainment, Osama bin Laden. One of the most poignant attacks comes in "Rage Against the Mac Machine," where Milano points out the fundamental flaw in the reasoning of highly successful bands that rail against the evils of capitalism.

The album also offers some different sounds for M.O.D., from the incorporation of Eminem's "please stand up" chorus in "Wigga," a statement about white suburban rap fans who style themselves gangstas, to perfectly aping the techno-metal sound of Rammstein on "De Men of Stein" and Kiss on "Get Ready," which could be considered either a parody or a tribute.

There are of course some typical hardcore M.O.D. numbers like the title track and "He's Dead, Jim," a tribute to an extra on "Star Trek." Then there are the fiercely patriotic thrashers "Making Friends is Easy" and "Assghanistan."

The only downside of this album is that there isn't enough of it. There are only eight new songs, and Milano fills out the album with semi-live versions that change very little and radio edits, which no one wants to listen to anyway. Still, he packs plenty to be happy about into those eight tunes. M.O.D. is reborn and better than before.

Get "The Rebel You Love to Hate."