The Confident Rat

Much of thrash was trailing off in 1991 when Ignorance release thier first of 2 LP's The Confident Rat. This is thrash at a very evolved form, and made much at the height of the funk craze it portrays an energetic, funky, and yet quite technical slab of Crossover Thrash. The main strengths of this band come from the solid guitar riffs and melodic solos combined with funky basslines and energetic drumming. The guitarists and bassist definitely steal the show. The vocalist is fairly good sounding a bit like Mordred's singer and of course Mike Muir although he dosen't carry the aggression that Muir does. And another note, the drummer uses hardly any tom fills on this whole album (except a few on "The Garden"). It's very odd and yet you surprisingly don't notice it until like the 10th listen.

Now down to the music, it starts off with a funky groover in "Questions", complete solid riffing and guitar melodies. The lyrics at times are quite odd but overall this is a very catchy song.

Next up is the agian, oddly lyriced "Sean". The chorus sounds like this one song you hear at sporting events called "Jump". The bass is really good using plenty of slapping. There is also a very strong riff after the solo.

"Its Never Wrong", the next track, is one of the best songs on the album. It goes from funky and thrashy to a very atmospheric acoustic part which works very well. The overall riffing on this one is also very good.

"Mamma Hocus" is one of the weaker tracks. It plods around at a slow and heavy pace. Theres some atmosperic parts also. Overall its not bad but not the best.

Then "Hello and Goodbye" Hits you with some fast ,monster riffs and a nice solo. Theres nothing really funky about this one as it is an all out thrasher. This is probably my favorite track.

The title track is a short, quick funky tune carried in the main part by a nice solo. Good Song.

"The Garden" is another slower and more atmospheric track but it works alot better than "Mamma Hocus" does. The solos in this song are the best on the album and the final one, complete with some sweep picking is amazing.

The next track, "In My Hands" is a funky midpacer with again a great guitar solo.

And now were up for a suprise: "Why" an extremely well executed epic midpaced thrasher. It takes you through heavy and atmosperic parts ending in an awesome solo and a kickass riff.

Then its "Funny" which is really a bit worthless of a track. Theres only a few seconds of actual music the rest is just sound effects and talking. I wonder why they even put this on.

Overall, athough the short run time, the diversity and freshness of this cd definately gives it a high score. Its a must for anyone interested in Crossover or Funk Thrash or even someone who wants a fresh take on thrash as we know it. THRASH ON!