Hellbound and talentless

Every now and then, a band comes along that sparks a musical revolution, changing the face of rock as we know it.

Unfortunately, more bands come along riding on the success of these legends, fully willing to disgrace the genre and churn out garbage just to make a quick buck and possibly hear their own voices on the radio. Enter The Heart Attacks.

Even if it weren't for the fact that all of the songs sound exactly the same, the album would still be a dire experience, and it begins with the album cover. The boys are trying so hard to evoke The Ramones, and yet all they manage to convey through their cover art is arrogance as they cause the listener a great deal of frustration before the CD has even gone into the stereo.

It feels wrong to judge based on appearances, but listening to the tracks provides a satisfying sense of justification.

The album "Hellbound and Heartless" begins with "You Oughtta Know By Now." It starts with a decent guitar riff and could be unconsciously catchy.

Unfortunately, the annoying quality of the lead singer's voice cancels out anything relatively good. It's grating, and it never gives up. The guitar riff is not enough to save the song from being just awful.

"Guilty" is a slightly less cheerful sounding track, but just like the other tracks it has the same quick beat with pounding drums and mundane guitar lines, and the lyrics mean about as much as all the other songs.

"What's going through your head/not a bit of guilt would haunt me to make it lead."

Lines like this lead one to ask the question, what exactly are these guys on?

The lyrics are disguised by the irritating lead singer's vocals, which is fortunate for the listeners. By really paying attention to them, or reading through the liner notes, it becomes clear how immature the band is.

When they're not espousing the drink and drug culture with lines like, "Fill it up, drink it down/pop pills 'till you're out on the ground," they are expressing platitudes.

"Every dreams been torn at the seam/and everyone but the music's ran out on me."

The Ramones will go down as a monumental group in music history, and one of the better contributors to the punk movement. The Heart Attacks are clearly influenced by them, but the comparison is in no way favorable.

There is nothing worse than bad punk, except maybe bad punk that thinks it's good. The Heart Attacks are bad punk with an inflated opinion of their own abilities.