The Art of Partying

Perhaps the most prolific of the thrash wave of the 2000s, Municipal Waste have garnered a divisive view from metalheads. While some, like myself, love the band and can appreciate the mixture of brilliant riffs with goofy and juvenile themes, some people express that any musical quality is ruined by the overarching theme of beer, pizza and thrashing. In my opinion, this is mostly true and could be annoying to a lot of listeners, but there is so much genuinely good cases of songwriting and creativity on The Art of Partying that it would be unfair to discredit the musicianship in spite of the subject matter. Take a song like Beer Pressure, which has an NWOBHM-influenced middle section that's amazing and leads into the hook of the song. This leads to another very strong aspect of the record; there are a lot of choruses and they all kick ass. This makes the tracks more memorable and accessible to an extent, although none of these songs reach 2 and a half minutes.

Ok, so the riffs, solos and choruses are good, but what new things have Municipal Waste brought to the table with this release? Well, this might sound crazy since I've just spent a paragraph praising the album, but the quality of The Art of Partying pales in comparison to its masterful predecessor, Hazardous Mutation, which spends every second blazing through excellent riff after excellent riff with a slick guitar tone that was never used before and hasn't been imitated since. On the other hand, this album takes a more dry approach to song structure. The fun is all still here, but there is a sacrifice of energy for a more content-heavy record.

A slight problem with this record is its lack of consistency especially around the middle of the album. A lot of these tracks are amazing and some of the most iconic and enjoyable that Municipal Waste have written, but so many songs are just good/decent and don't do much to serve as more than drinking music or something that you would listen to individually rather than the album as a whole. There aren't any utter fucking barn burners on here like Deathripper or Set To Destruct, but most of these songs still satisfy with very little fat and a focus on upbeat, catchy thrash metal.

Headbanger Face Rip is another song that needs to be mentioned for how varied it is during its less-than-two-minute runtime. It acts as an example that the whole album isn't the most original or eye-opening, but refuses to over-return to patterns and motifs that become boring, like a lot of the throwaway thrash bands around the same time who couldn't write songs that stood out. Anyway, this is a typical crossover record that contains much more quality material than you'd expect at first, but it definitely wouldn't impress a prog connoisseur who scoffs at any lyrics that aren't about space or clocks or some shit. This is simple and effective but unusual at times, and is worth giving a shot if only for its more memorable cuts like Born To Party, Headbanger Face Rip and the title track.

Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the "Re-thrash albums you must own" show where we take a look at new wave of thrash metal albums that must be the part of every single thrash record collection for one reason or another. Today we take a look at the album that has probably single-handedly spawned the term "pizza-thrash", put the band on the radar for most people and also managed to get "certain" people hate re-thrash more than anything else.

Let's make something clear right off the bat. Thrash metal isn't supposed to be 100% serious. Some people seem to ignore this and just shit on the record since even the title suggests that they are all about the thrashin'. While this is the most common excuse I see people make when they are asked why they hate the band. If you really think about it Tankard even made a career out of beer-themed music and they don't get nearly as much hate for it. The main reason I had to address this is that musically there is absolutely nothing so horrifying about this album that it would justify the hate it gets so most people just tend to make up stuff about it so they don't look like a bunch of dummies.

But enough of that already, let's see what do we have here! The Waste follow the same path the started walking on the previous album, but this time they managed to make EVERY. SINGLE. TRACK. IS. MEMORABLE. While it doesn't sound like something that's hard to achieve, but in reality, only a handful of albums are flawless with not a single mediocre track. The release having 17 songs also doesn't make it easier for them to make 'em all top tier, but guess what? There is at least one or two different parts of each song that managed to get stuck in my head for weeks to come when I heard this album for the first time (many years ago).

Before talking about the new tracks I thought it's worth mentioning that the previously not so iconic song Born to Party made a comeback to this album and this time with better production, longer playtime, more fucking-you-up, and a lot more beer shotgunning it managed to become probably the most iconic crossover/thrash metal anthems since the 90s (!!!) and this song also proved that Sometimes they like to chill like a bitch sometimes. The funny thing is that it's not even the only re-done song from their pre-Waste 'em All days, Thrashing's My Business... And Business Is Good has been rerecorded, but unlike Born to Party its length got cut in half, but this way it feels (even more) energetic than it was on their debut EP.

The album starts off with a neck-breaking intro track which quickly flows into the first song which happens to be the title track. What a song that is... With the 2 minutes of playtime, it showcases both excellent riffing and Tony and Ryan's chemistry. The first riff is pretty hit or miss, but the chorus part of the song makes up for it (even though I'm a huge fan of the first riff too). The swapping vocals are also executed insanely well, but if you don't like this then the second 3rd track Headbanger Face Rip got your covered with the well-known crossover gang vocals.

I could talk about each and every single song on this record for a long-ass time, but for the sake of the review, I will just mention a few more. The Inebriator has one of the best riffs on the entire album (which tells you a lot considering literally every song on here can cause an instant mosh-pit at live shows) and then there is Beer Pressure with the wonderful vocal performance. You might ask what's up with the bass and the drums since so far have been praising the guitars and the vox exclusively and my answer for that would be Sadistic Magician. The bass lines in that song are just nutty and it adds a lot of extra layers to this exceptionally groovy track and as for the drumming there is really nothing to say, it's perfectly balanced in the mix and even though it doesn't have any of those real stand-out moments (in my opinion), it still serves as a wonderful element in each song nonetheless.

Overall this album is notorious for a reason, but not for the one that most anti-rehtrash-league members will tell you. It was very influential for this new wave of thrash metal movement that has been going on for the last 2 decades now. If you think that this isn't the best re-thrash album out there or even the best Municipal Waste you are entitled to your own opinion, but since it's my review I'm giving this timeless piece of crossover re-thrash monster a perfect rating.

"Why is this a re-thrash album I must own?": Because this is the highest quality crossover album from the last 19 years and it's very influential.

There are no highlights this time because every single track is just as good as the next one.

The new wave of thrash metal sure has its highlights. Toxic Holocaust, Havok, and Vektor are some of the biggest names, and they are somewhat innovative but have a slight feeling of nostalgia to their sound. These bands focus on staying loyal to thrash, along with considering that times have changed and that metal evolved. Municipal Waste are also one of those thrash bands, and are quite popular among the bands of the new scene. The only problem is that they do stay loyal to the nostalgic sound, but don't take in mind that metal has fucking changed since D.R.I released Thrash Zone.

And this is what this all of this album's about. Thrash worship, Thrash or Die-style, and with the exactly same lyrical content, poor musical approach and even crappy vocals accompany this slab of pure fucking boredom. The blandest and the most overused thrash riffs in existence are shown in their full pride in a never-ending sequence all along the 31 minutes of this abortion, along with wannabe Exodus and Slayer drumming which isn't creative or exciting (but is the best thing about this crappy album and do manage to deliver some occasional good beats such as in The Inebriator, for example). The bass is pretty boring too, playing the same thing over and over AND FUCKING OVER AGAIN with using the same patterns all over and over again. The entire album follows this direction, with every part, including the vocals, being predictive as hell.

Except for the useless music approach, the vocals suck too. They sound very Paul Baloff and Kurt Brecht worshipping, but are executed so poorly and lack of any passion that you will just wanna throw up like the guy in the bottom left corner of the damn album cover. The lyrics are no good either, with all trying to be fun or thrash worshiping but end up being shitty like everything else in the album. Even Exodus did a better job in Fabulous Disaster with song naming and writing better lyrics than Municipal Waste- take the song names for example, Beer Pressure, Lunch Hall Food Brawl which their song titles aren't even funny with the lyrics following the exact same steps-

"Lets get fucked up its time to rage
A couple of parties up the street
Bare witness to a drunken fleet
I begin to stumble down the hall
I spot a keg and I want it all" (Chemically Altered)

Now, another one of the few highlight of the album is the production. Like the rest of the NWOTM bands, the album was treated with top-notch production that emphasizes every instrument, drum beat and vocal line perfectly (I really don't know if it's a good or a bad thing, because we're still talking about The Art of Partying and not Black Future or something). Skip this album if you like thrash metal, and honestly, being in a funeral doom party is much better than being in a poser-fest like this. Avoid.

Municipal Waste are kind of seen as one of the biggest new thrash bands...I think. But it's kind of really difficult to see why.

This is a bit better than their other stuff, but at the same time it is far from a classic and isn't really worth a second listen. To be fair, it's barely worth one.

First up...I think the lyrics are supposed to be funny, but really they kind of aren't. Things like "Headbanger Face Rip" and "Beer Pressure" kind of just makes you think of little 14 year olds dressed like metalheads trying to sound cool.

Then there is the length of the songs. Not one hits the 3 minute mark. Many don't even hit two. I kind of don't see the point. You listen to it and BOOM! Song over. For me, it makes it very hard to differentiate between each song and so they barely stand out at all. There is just about no variation and no riffs that make you sit back and think..."Yeah, this is a good riff."

The vocals...are not good. It is kind of just yelling into a microphone. The vocals are a bit better than they used to be, but it's still nothing impressive at all and really doesn't do much good for the sound...especially taking into consideration the joke lyrics.

The only thing worth listening to is the last song "Born to Party", it is literally the only catchy and memorable song on the entire album. Or perhaps, for Municipal Waste in general.

Having been completely enamored with their ’05 effort Hazardous Mutation, Municipal Waste’s next effort was one of my most anticipated releases of its decade. Here was a group that was destined for greatness, a band that may eventually come to earn a place among the US thrash elite that they so desperately idolize. I was genuinely stoked for this release, and yet, it would be several years before I would take the time to really delve into it to the same extreme degree as I did its rabid predecessor. Allow me to explain this change of heart.

If I were a Municipal Waste virgin, I’d tell you that this was one of the wildest, slam-bangingest neck-wreckers you’d ever get a chance to hear. Here is a group that is single-minded in its ambitions: to provide the ultimate soundtrack to your latest summer kegger. Very heavy, very speedy crossover-inspired thrash madness is on tap and flowing freely. The riffing is mostly simple, I daresay typical, but the energy is there, and there’s more than enough excursions into slower chugging and power-metallic melodic riffs to keep the whole thing varied enough for your maximum entertainment. I, however, am not such a virgin to this band and despite their once-again obvious enthusiasm, I found myself disappointed at the lack of progression from the previous effort. Yes, yes, I can hear you chuckling now… “Ha! This poor bastard expected progress from a band like Municipal Waste? Whadda mook!” …but still, if you’ve been following their career like I have, there’s a definite arc to their sonic development. One can look from release to release and see consistent improvement all the way up to the apex of Hazardous Mutation. With The Art of Partying though, they’ve entered that dreaded cruise control mode that a lot of bands get stuck in from time to time. Now that they’ve finally found their sound, they can afford professional, consistent production, they’ve got a comfortable lineup, and they’ve got a decent size audience, it’s time to sit back and let the money roll in, baby! Why make the effort to push oneself to the next level when you can crap out a quick album and tour, tour, tour? Maybe I’m taking all this too seriously, but I had higher expectations for these guys. I didn’t expect them to suddenly turn into an Exmortus or a Witchaven or anything, but I’d like to have seen where they could have gone from here, rather than merely repeating their past triumphs.

To that extent, The Art of Partying is functionally equivalent to its predecessors. You put this on at your next social gathering, it will be vastly improved. And with all the booze and sing-along choruses and thrashing out going on in such a short amount of time, you’ll probably be happy to play the thing twice through. But listen to it again in a more intimate setting, and you’ll find that this set of tunes isn’t quite as potent as some of their older tracks. Whereas previous tracks were quick, but really quite well thought out, many of these seem lazily pieced together to me. Several of these tracks lack discretion, more interested in how many Slayer and Exodus ideas can be squeezed into a two minute song than coherent development. “Lunch Hall Food Brawl,” the weak re-recording of “Born to Party,” and even the raucous ‘hit’ that is “Headbanger Face Rip” kind of leave a lot to be desired. And while I’m complaining, they didn’t even bother to throw in any solos, which I generally like to hear from bands of this sort. And why does “Pre Game” even exist? We get it, you like to open albums with short instrumentals. How hard would it have been to add thirty seconds and some lyrics and make it an actual song? Filler, thy name be known. I do like some of these tunes, tracks like “Sadistic Magician,” “Beer Pressure,” and “Radioactive Force” are pretty hard to deny, but none manage to hit that same decadent balance that Hazardous Mutation possessed for its entire run time. Maybe I’m just too attached to that album to be unbiased here, but I’d bet money that even fans who heard this album first would agree with me.

At the end of the day though, it’s still the Waste and it’s still pretty entertaining, with lots of riffs about and some enjoyable lyrical endeavors (“Beer Pressure,” “Open Your Mind”). I’m just concerned with their direction, or more accurately their lack thereof. If they didn’t go somewhere, do something a bit different, I was going to have to say they’d jumped the shark with this one. Thankfully, hindsight has proven otherwise, but at the time, I was genuinely concerned. Even today, this one rarely gets a replay.

Oh yeah, and the riotous “Boner City” is only available as one of a couple bonus tracks on the super special limited edition version. Fuuuck that.

Municipal Waste. What's there to say about them? One of the leaders, if not THE leader, in the thrash revival of this generation. "The Art Of Partying" certainly shows this. I was a wee bit hesitant from the very beginning of this album after listening to "Hazardous Mutation" and "Waste 'Em All". Would they still have the edge to their music or would they fall into the boiling pot of other modern generic thrash bands? While the guys in Municipal Waste may have lost some of their more crossover-esque tendencies, they retained the punch that their previous albums showed. Catchy riffs and precision drum work kept me listening from beginning to end and they continue to every time I pop this bad boy into my stereo. Phil's outstanding and sometimes quite funky bass lines is one thing that I feel a lot of other modern thrash bands lack in an extreme fashion. That has always been a strong point of Municipal Wastes' music (the bass intro to "Sadistic Magician", just to name one example). While the songs themselves may run together at points if not examined individually, the energy they all share doesn't lessen no matter how many times I've listened them.

Lyrically speaking, on the downside, this album does coalesce with the themes of a huge amount of other modern thrash acts, with themes such as drinking, moshing, and partying, just to name a couple. Aside from the rather comical lyrics spread throughout the some of the songs, this monotony has to be only drawback I can see in "The Art of Partying". Saying that, songs like "Lunch Hall Food Brawl" and "Mental Shock" do have rather original lyrical content, for example.

With the generic "drink, thrash, mosh, repeat" mindset of a huge portion of modern thrash spreading through the streets in recent years, Municipal Waste is one of the few bands in this genre to make it work, and work well - with fast-paced, in-your-face vocals and guitar work and catchy, outspoken bass, "The Art of Partying" with have you headbanging within seconds of "Pre-Game's" opening riff.

A friend recommended this album to me and said the Waste is truly an amazing band, were fast and intense, and that it would knock my head off. At first I was reluctant to listen to it because I'm truly not one for change. Eventually I picked it up and popped it in my stereo after ignoring it for a long period of time and I felt stupid. I missed out on so much. Municipal Waste's "The Art of Partying" is truly a powerful and rapid piece with lots of intensity and full of rage! In short, I really liked it!

Let's go through the tracks, shall we?

The first bit is a forty second song called "Pre-Game", and now I know why. It's a small band piece (minus the vocals) where you get a small taste of the next song,"The Art of Partying", It felt like a real pre-game and it portrayed that feeling to the listener. Next is "The Art Of Partying" and this song (like the others) had a time limit of two minutes with some killer riffs and fast vocal technique and both made for a great combo. You get a taste of everything: the vocals, bass, the guitars, and the fast beats of the drums. It was like a TV dinner; lots to choose from and can be finished in 2 minutes.

Then came along "Headbanger Face Rip", another great song that felt just like "Partying" but with more power and intensity, so bottoms up! Again there were lots of fast instrumental tracks mixed with the powerful, rapid-fast vocals that were also delivered. After this came the songs "Mental Shock", "Attention Deficit Destroyer" (A.D.D.), and "the Inebriator". Do I even need to go on through the tracks? They all sound the same and have the same length and that's the only problem with this album. If it wasn't there, this album would be 100% already. I don't have issues with the execution or the song length, because I'm actually okay with the length because they're short and sweet rather than long and boring. It's just that everything sounds the same. The blast beats along with the vocals starts to get you annoyed just a little bit. On the other hand, every song is like a mini-story and it's a somewhat "new" adventure every time. Simply put, this album is "modern thrash", however it brings back the good old thrashing years of the '80s to the 21st century and Waste have done a good job executing this album, but perhaps not in terms of repetitiveness. Nonetheless, this is a great album to add to any metal fan's collection.

Municipal Waste is a band that gets about as much scorn as it does love, and if the reason does not become immediately obvious, a swift ass-kicking in the pit to their music will either jog your memory or bury you where your trampled carcass will end up. The originality seekers, the “let’s push the envelope of possibilities” crowd, and all the other weekend elitists and intellectuals who complain about nothing new happening yet find themselves praising less successful bands for rehashing shit that was done a few years after what this band is revisiting, all are far from this band’s mind. This is the sort of band that reminds of such cliché albums as “Zombie Attack” and “U.S.A. for M.O.D.” that make most modern metal enthusiasts cringe, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

But consternation for a subjective standard of modernity aside, these crossover revivalists have done very little to evolve in the 6 years that they’ve been active, apart from increasing the average song length on their subsequent studio releases. “The Art Of Partying” definitely showcases the usual blend of fast paced riffing with few slowdown sections, punk infused vocals oozing with attitude in spite of a limited vocal range, gang choruses that seem even more prevalent than before, and lyrics that all but indiscriminately hit all the excesses associated with the genre. But in some respects in comes across as slightly more mature because of the longer song lengths and with it the increased level of repetition and variation amongst the crunchy, flashy riff work that has otherwise been drawn from the same well as all previous works.

The aesthetic of this album as a bunch of crazed kids turned zombies partying so hard that they begin to cannibalize each other is a bit over-the-top, but then again, so is the hybrid sub-genre that was pioneered in the mid 80s and paved the way for this. In usual fashion, sometimes it sounds like pure Anthrax/Nuclear Assault worship via simpler tunes in “Born To Party” and “Beer Pressure”, the latter have a somewhat awkward voiceover, but otherwise a decent tune. But for the most part, this thing just blazes away at Slayer-like tempos (think before “South Of Heaven”) and doesn’t relent, though it seems the lead guitar work is becoming a bit scarcer in favor of more riffs and gang choruses. But on the whole, the songs tend to have a little more staying power as they don’t seem to leave almost as quickly as they come, save the obligatory sub-minute intro “Pre-Game”, a shorter version of the speeding mayhem that occupies 90% of this album.

While this can be seen as a slight step down from the vicious second album in “Hazardous Mutation”, this still delivers the spine ruining goods the way all previous works have. This isn’t the sort of band or style that even pretends to lend itself to progression, apart from maybe some nuances in the various lyrical endeavors afforded to it (none of them intellectually titillating), so all the “this sounds the same” douches are encouraged, in all politeness of course, to fuck off and die. But for those who foolishly thought that hardcore skinheads and jeans toting thrashers with their flowing hair could live together in a violent yet synchronistic coexistence, it’s just one good time waiting to be had. Drink up, be merry, and party till you puke.

This is actually the first CD I got from Municipal Waste. Having heard the buzz about this release, as well as the song “The Art of Partying” being on the “Thrashing Like a Maniac” compilation, I checked out this album. This record hosts several new things about the ‘Waste that weren’t on previous records – most of the songs are a little longer, breaking the 2 minute mark. The actual record in its entirety is also about 6 or 7 minutes longer than Hazardous Mutation Also including the longest ‘Waste song ever recorded, “Born to Party”, clocking in at 4:20.


Municipal Waste has definitely found their style on this release, and continues the same pattern of furious thrash they had on Hazardous Mutation. I also sensed that thier influences had shuffled around a little bit - I definitley hear more Iron Maiden ish solos (Example - Beer Pressure solo = Different World) However many of the songs on this release reminded me of songs on Hazardous Mutation. The whole band has gotten slightly better in skill, as the guitars are tighter than before and the drumming has improved. This album though like Hazardous Mutation starts off very strong and then starts to lose steam a little in the middle, and then picks up again near the end. If you got the limited edition of this CD, which gives you the 2 bonus tracks “Thrashing’s My Business and Business is Good” (Funny thing about this track is the first time I saw the tile I was thinking of Megadeth, but this song sounds nothing like Megadeth…hmmm) and “I Just Wanna Rock”. These tracks are OK but are not the best songs on the album, so if you don’t get the limited edition you are still getting the main cuts of the album. The first 4 songs (Pre-Game-Mental Shock) are probably the best songs on the album. Municipal Waste really shows their skills here, in both riffs and lyrics.


Also the thing about Municipal Waste is how they fit so many lyrics into such short songs. I don't know how Tony Foresta does it. Anyway, the lyrics on this album are similar to the lyrics on Hazardous Mutation, but there are a few differences. In interviews, Tony Foresta has said this album was a concept album about partying, so most of the songs focus on thrashing and partying, although some songs talk about totally random things like school food fights, being imprisoned for doing something someone else did, and mental disorders. Also, check out the band doing some speaking parts in "Beer Pressure". (I cant even see man!)


If you want to get into Municipal Waste, this is a good album but get Hazardous Mutation first, and then if you like that get this.

Looking at the title, you should understand what this album is about. Drinking, destroying property, and going crazy, does this album really stand up to the rising crossover competition?

Well, in simple terms, it does. Before you actually listen to this album, you know what to expect. Fast paced tracks that are only a few minutes long and hard to tell a part. This can be a burden to some, but it’s easy to forget. The album starts of with a quick intro track “Pre-game” nothing special at all; it’s actually the only bad track on here. The rest is either good or average. Nothing here will surprise you. That’s not necessarily a problem. Many bands nowadays call themselves thrash (Trivium, Shadows Fall, crap like that) when their actually not. This is true crossover thrash at it’s finest.

Unfortunately, there are some slip-ups here. This album is very short, only thirty-two minutes. So the experience won’t last long. This isn’t too much of a surprise coming from a band of this genre, but I wish it were a little longer. At some points, it’s also hard to notice a large difference between the tracks themselves. Once again this is part of the genre, but this could be changed and I wish it would be eventually.

Overall this is a solid record. A few stand out tracks are “The Art of Partying,” “Headbanger Face Rip,” “Chemically Altered,” and “Sadistic Magician.” The tracks I didn’t mention aren’t bad, more like average. Pick this one up if you want some good quality thrash, you won’t be surprised, but you will enjoy it.

The 2000's. ‘Tis the new millennium of thrash. Many bands have been toiling in the underground, while the true innovators are still thrashing their hearts out. Didn't like the latest Slayer album? Go to hell, that album was so fucking Slayer it hurt. It may not have been pure 80's, but fuck, this music isn't about straight imitation, its about grabbing those influences from your metal heroes and throwing your personality horns-first into the tunes.

Torture Squad, Merciless Death, Ghoul, the list of underground bands dedicated to THRASH is becoming awesomely uncountable. And with lyrics about weed, speed, moshing and beer, how can the Waste not be banging their heads in the front row with stalwarts like Heathen, Agent Steel and Overkill?

This band takes the Reign In Blood theory and makes it their band. Each album is short, fast, and brutal, leaving my balls hurting yet begging for more, and the songs are tailor-made for the live setting. Album too short? Then flip over the tape and play it again! I'm all for expanding musical horizons, but album length is something I couldn't hack from these guys. Time Does Not Heal, thrash riffing 101, is fucking amazing, but its not the Waste.

Because this, THIS, is crossover. None of this 'metalcore' trite, this music takes the aggression and technicality of thrash, the pure DIY fun and speed of hardcore punk, and attatches the two to opposing Mack trucks heading towards each other at top speed. The attitude is again purely crossover; no solos, no ego, no one being a little nazi drumming troll who can't play for shit anyway. And that’s what the pit is: metalheads, skinheads and punks alike just THRASHING OUT! I witnessed someone crowd-surfing on a pink boogie board, while trying to headbang, when I saw these guys. That, plus the fact they took the time out to actually TOUR here for a gig that gave me change from 30 bucks, says it all.

Beer Pressure: Crossover played HEAVY, with lyrics and spoken parts by the band about being “Waaasteeeeeddd” over the top.

This is why bands like Unearth, while not my thing, I've gotta respect for at least having the right attitude to music. Then you have a band like i killed the prom queen, which just makes me plain sad to know I live in the shithole known as Adelaide, Australia, and its that sort of garbage that will attract attention. But hey, that’s what this music is about! The middle finger! And the Waste know we exist down here.

Bands like this make me the drummer and musician I am, true equality in a band is important. I just can't see a band like this splitting up for idiotic, greed-driven, pointless reasons. This band just gets heavier and faster with each release. The riff count is climbing. Municipal Waste is gonna FUCK YOU UP!

/me cracks open a can of brew.

Yeah, I just described this album and band in its entirety without describing it at all. I rehashed everyone else’s words. But anyone with a metal brain will know from -all- these reviews what this album will sound like. Think its predictable? Go listen to Opeth, or And Justice, or something equally 'epic' in its grand scale, and I'll listen too, laughing forever after.

We're born to fuckin' party! Originally written for the jordman.

thejordman.blogspot.com

"I'm a sucker for thrash metal and throwback '80s crossover thrash, and Municipal Waste has always done the latter very well. Their style of music is just an onslaught of thrash and punk, ripping off your face and taking your keg as payment for their services. It's just an eternal party for these guys and they play about it, and my god is it awesome. If only the '80s were still going then I could become one of those monster party animals that are always remembered in high school (in reality I'd probably be that 20-something guy who keeps going to high school kids parties... which would suck).

“The Art of Partying” is just that, focusing on partying and making it into musical art; the muse of Municipal Waste. This is the kind of music where you would gladly put on your denim vest and pump your fist in the air like a retard while bashing a beer can against your face and I support it with every fiber of my being. You shouldn't take this music seriously, because it will completely ruin the novelty of it and realize that you're just supposed to thrash around and have a great time, and I really dig that.

The music as a whole is very reminiscent of old '80s thrash like Exodus, Destruction, Sodom, Tankard, and Heathen to name a few. You really can't go wrong if you're able to pull off that sound correctly and adding in an excellent punk-edge, which impresses me because I hate punk (except Phobia). “The Art of Partying”is just one gigantic beer-bong with lots of metal and punk homages throughout the ride. You've got songs like “Headbanger Face Rip”, “A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Destroyer)”, “Lunch Hall Food Brawl” and “Beer Pressure” that makes you want to get completely wasted, go skateboarding and commit lots of vandalism to your respective learning institutions, like spraypainting “Cocksucker!!!” right on the middle of the football field.

I'm perfectly aware that the '80s are long-gone, but that doesn't mean that we can't still remember the glory days of thrash metal, and Municipal Waste has set out to do just that; remind us why thrash metal is awesome. The riffs are intense and powerful thanks to Ryan Waste (ex-Immortal Avenger), Land Phil's (ex-Nehema, Cannibis Corpse) bass is very closely related to that of Steve DiGiorgio (ex-Autopsy, ex-Control Denied, ex-Death), Tony Foresta's voice definitely reminds me of a very pissed off punk vocalist, and Dave Witte's (ex-Discordance Axis, ex-Burnt by the Sun, Birds of Prey) veteran drumming really shows off his grindcore/punk roots that fits very well with what the band has given him.

Now let's focus on the kick-ass throwback lyrics of “Headbanger Face Rip”!:

“He's going to he concert
He's full of thrashing rage
He's going to rip his face off and throw it at the stage!

Headbanger Face Rip

She's putting on her makeup
She's teasing out her hair
She's going to rip her face off and throw it down the stairs

It doesn't really matter who you came to see to play
All we want to see you do is rip your face away
Thumbs into your eyeballs, stick your fingers in
Rake your hand across your face and pull apart your skin

Blood and hair swirl everywhere
Your face is gone but you don't care
Receiving thrills with every tear
Destroy it as fast you can
Now is your time to take a stand
Just rip your face off the band

Headbanger Face Rip”

Look at that, this song is one minute and fifty-one seconds long, and Tony some-how manages to spit all of those out, which really reminds me of now defunct grindcore band Damaged. Those lyrics are just awesome and really showcase what this song is; a good fucking time at a metal show and make sure you give it your all in the pits. This is their “Toxic Waltz”.

“The Art of Partying” should be required listening for any heavy partier, and should also be “The Party Animals' Manifesto”, really, it's that damn good. This is going under my best thrash/crossover album of 2007 and maybe for the next two or three years. Nearly flawless effort by Municipal Waste, and I suggest you all catch them on tour with another throwback '80s thrash band by the name of Toxic Holocaust. Party on Municipal Waste, party on."

Originally written for Metal Stomp.

Lets face it, Municipal Waste contain the sound of old school thrash, yet they posess something else that makes the music an enjoyable listen everytime you pop the album on. The Art of Partying is Municipal Waste's third album, as with Hazardous Mutation contains non-stop ass kicking crossover thrash. The band themselves have seemed to mature there sound on this record with the vocals sounding more refined, the guitar tone a bit thicker, and the bass on standard levels it wasnt on for Hazardous Mutation.

The album begins with a little 39 second clip called "Pre-Game" and it is as the title suggests a preview of whats to come (minus the vocals), then heads straight into the title track. From the title track on the album gives you non-stop ass pounding crossover thrash that D.R.I., & S.O.D. would be proud of. "Headbanger Facerip" is the single of sorts off the album, a fun energetic track that is to hard NOT to sing along to the chorus. The only problem with this, is like Municipal Waste's other albums is that some of the songs send alike after awhile because of the short length the songs are. The longest song on the album is the last track "Born To Party" at 4:20 long but the music itself last until about 1:15 into the song, followed by about 2:15 of silence then a small audio clip of the band I assume.

The only glaring problems with this is album along with the other two are 1) repitition, and 2) length, this is there longest album at 32 minutes, but if Municipal Waste want to keep there name high they should make there songs longer, but this is only the afterthough for he album its just a good fun.

The direction that modern metal is going, it's hard to believe that any band would get popular by playing classic 80s crossover thrash metal. It's really hard to believe. Municipal Waste seems to be just doing that - and with the release of The Art of Partying they are just further perfecting that classic sound. Old school thrashers - prepare for Municipal Waste to fuck you up!

The band has really benefited from the updated production and instead of a slurry of guitars (they weren't bad before just not quite as clear) they now have heavy and clean guitar sounds. The double guitar work with building any kind of atmosphere or even really being all that catchy (it must have happened naturally) but the guitars are focused on being fast, chaotic, and thrashy as hell. That's exactly what they do. The dueling riffs with fast furious solos and leads will make any old school thrashead smile and at moments it made me think of classic Nuclear Assault. The guitar work is relentless and anything slower than "headbangable" cannot be found. And it works amazingly.

The bass and drums are also classic crossover fodder - that means that the drums don't have time to be overly complicated or technical - the music is too fast. And the bass is there - but it mostly follows the guitar lines (if it's not pretty much mixed out of the entire album all together). The bass does
have a few awesome moments ("A.D.D." for example) and the drums don't take anything away from the music - in fact they fit almost perfectly. No heavy double bass work or odd sounding snare - just the right fit.

The vocal work a mix of thrash singing and hardcore screaming (think Exodus but
a little less harsh). Great old style of singing that fits well. Nothing too far from the base and little variety in the vocals. There are some great chanting moments that I would assume are going to be great for live shows. There are some very funny spoken parts on the album too that gave me a good laugh. Listen for those.

Lyrically, the band isn't concerned with social or political issues but are more concerned with drinking, destroying, partying, and playing fast metal. With an album, so aptly named The Art of Partying, one couldn't really expect more. So if that's your forte then this is right up your ally.

Overall, this album did exactly what it was intended to do. Municipal Waste will not write anything but only the most classic of crossover songs - so if you aren't a fan then don't attend to this album. I wish there was a tad more variety in the mix but that's just my opinion.

Songs to check out: Headbanger Face Rip, Beer Pressure, Born to Party.

If you’re a fan of Hardcore and/or Thrash Metal, you would no doubt have heard of the USA’s latest Thrash sensation, Municipal Waste. Since their 2003 debut Waste ‘Em All, the Waste have been consistently churning out “Crossover” in the vein of Nuclear Assault and Wehrmacht for legions of old-school Thrash fans, who are always on the lookout for albums which hark back to the glory days of the mid ‘80s. 2005 even saw them sign to one of the Metal scene’s biggest labels, Earache Records, and release their sophomore album Hazardous Mutation, which is quite an achievement considering most of their peers are usually left toiling in their underground scenes. Hazardous Mutation saw them leave behind the raw, 50 second bursts and present us a polished album containing 2:38 epics such as “Bang Over”.

And now, after two years of what has seemed like non-stop touring, the band spent late last year and the early months of ’07 writing and recording their third album, the appropriately named The Art of Partying. It sees Municipal Waste picking up exactly where they left off with Hazardous Mutation, where sharp and fast Thrash songs lasting no more than two-and-a-half minutes are the order of the day.

See, while Hazardous Mutation was not without it’s flaws (some of which it shares with The Art of Partying), the real strength of the album was it’s ability to mesh together fast, sometimes melodic riffs, with vocal hooks and frantic drumming all while keeping things somewhat fresh throughout the duration. The Art of Partying, however, sets the pace with the title track, then pretty much keeps it there for the remaining 28 minutes. Hazardous Mutation suffered from this too, but it’s so much more obvious on The Art of Partying that it’s difficult to turn a blind eye and claim “but it’s Thrash, it’s not supposed to be varied” like so many have before. There’s no “Abusement Park” to keep the hooks coming in the middle, and there’s no “Mind Eraser” to mix up the formula a little toward the end. The Art of Partying begins and ends on a great note, but the majority of the material is really unremarkable. Sure there’s the few hook scattered in there, and a couple of great half time sections, but I struggle to recall what part belongs to which song, and I’ve listened to the thing many times now.

Instrumentally the album holds up well, with Dave Witte’s manic drumming in particular being a highlight. The guitar work is solid, textbook Thrash playing, with simple powerchord riffs and rampant e string abuse abound, and the vocals courtesy of Tony Foresta are his usual fun, frantic shout. While the band aren’t virtuosos by any means, they are pretty tight, and it’s quite obvious that given the simple nature of their music, they would be more than able to present an extremely fun live show while not sounding like shit.

Despite The Art of Partying’s flaws, when it’s good, it’s some of the best fun you can have with a Metal album. The title track and “Headbanger Face Rip” are able to fill you with youthful energy after a mere 30 seconds, and would surely be great to experience live. The re-recorded, and extended version of Born To Party is fantastic too, with the infectious “Municipal Waste is gonna FUCK YOU UP!” section demanding many rewinds. “Born To Party” originally appeared on Municipal Waste’s split with Crucial Unit way back in 2002, and is definitely the highlight of the album. Coincidence? I think not.

In the end, Municipal Waste has predictably provided us with another enjoyable, solid Thrash release. If you’re looking for somewhere to begin with the band, get Hazardous Mutation, but if you’re a big fan of Municipal Waste or Thrash in general you’ll probably find it caters to your needs quite nicely.