Hex Error
s/t Self-released CD
Hex Error formed from the ashes of Barbarosa last year. Many of the Truckstop party regulars might remember Barbarosa’s mind-blowing set a few years ago at the Harbor Tavern. Last year Atlanta's Hex Error made their debut at yet another Truckstop party. They have the same intensity as Barbarosa only taken to the next level. Hatch seems to have found the band he was looking for. The music is tight and melodic, very loud and very angry with a lot to say in the lyric department. Hex Error has a sound similar to a band on the Am Rep label if comparable to any other bands at all. This 12 song self-released CD is making a lot of headway in the underground music scene as well as the fickle college radio stations around the country. Song titles like "Genocide City", "Newspaper's Gestapo" and "The World of Plastic People" have a lot of political/social content. "Plastic smiles hazy got no eyes blind to truth full of lies everything is artificial in the world of plastic people". The recording is top notch; the package is full color with all the lyrics within. This band will get the hair on your neck standing up as well as give you something to think about. What else could you ask for?

Rat Town Records/Distribution
www.rattownrecords.com
Review b y Dick Gossinya

SMUT
self-titled
This premiere CD release from Philadelphia punk band, SMUT, is driving, powerful, and fun to listen to. Harsh throaty vocals combine with rhythm you can dance to and sing along choruses that echo through your beer. Heavy riffs play off minor scales; you might think the band's going to lecture and preach some of their dogma, but upon closer listening, the band's sense of humor is revealed instead. The lyrics feel like a punch to the solar plexis, straight from the heart. SMUT isn't out to please anyone, they don't need advice. Through their own self-criticism and acknowledgement of their flaws, they've created something worth playing in your stereo.

c/o Josh Moody
708 Sears St.
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Review by Joey Peleckis

NOFX
45 or 46 songs that weren’t good enough to go on our other records

If you thought the title was long, wait until you try to sit down and objectively listen to the whole album. What helps is the captivating layout that comes with this album. The fan mail, photos and notes will not only have you laughing but tell you more about the band. What you need to know about this band is that although they are bigger than Jesus, they still are punk as s!#t. There aren’t too many bands that you can say that about. Who else in their position would be stoked about autographed toys and a lunch box from the Misfits?
In a time when there are a hundred bands whining about their girlfriends, it’s refreshing to hear NOFX still whining about being punk. My favorite song lyric is by Blue Oyster Cult who later became Soft White Underbelly, (but that’s another story) the lyric is "Time to play B sides". That doesn’t apply so much now that we get the majority of music on CD. However, there are quite a few B sides on this CD and some really cool covers.
Fat Wreck Chords
P.O. Box 193690
San Francisco, CA 94119
Review by Lep

Silent June
My Three Songs
On a regular basis, local bands ask me to interview their band in the magazine. I want to support all local bands, but have a limited amount of space to print. So I usually respond, "Do you have any material that you are pushing" (Meaning a CD, split, part of a compilation or any kind of recording that people reading the interview might obtain if they find the interview interesting). A lot of the time the response is no. Conversely, Silent June has been around for a while, working their ass off to play regularly across North Florida. Not just Jacksonville or Gainesville, but both and a lot of places in between. I used to work with the singer Billy at my real job. I saw him on a regular basis. He knew about Truckstop but never pushed his band on me with the exception of the one time I asked him about his band. He gave me a CD in response and that was about it. I wrote a review, but it didn’t make it to print. Billy doesn’t work with me anymore, but I hear from one of his relatives that they are playing out a few nights a week. So now they have a promo CD out that is worth listening to and I don’t intend on overlooking them again. Silent June isn’t the typical music that I listen to. They have more of a rock and roll sound than the grind core/sludge sounds that I have most enjoyed lately. But it is definitely interesting and refreshingly different. When I lived in Ontario Canada for a short while, there was a band called Rusty that I listened to a lot and actually saw once. Silent June’s sound reminds me of that band. If you are familiar with Rusty, you should see the similarities; mainly concentrated guitar licks and drawn out vocals. Of course Silent June isn’t Canadian, but they are worth checking out.
Silent June
Route 6 Box 1710
Stark, FL 32091
Review by Lep

Brothers of Conquest
All The Colors of Darkness
Remember that kid in school that sat in the back of class, didn’t talk to anyone, just read fantasy paperbacks, always had a dirty Iron Maiden or Led Zeppelin shirt on, and wore head phones all of the time? You never really talked to him because he was scary, not because he was a big mean football jock, but because you could tell bad thoughts were going through his head. Those guys are in bands now. These guys are bringing back that evil element that pop punk has taken from youth music without rapping and whining. There’s no whining about girlfriends in this jewel, straight up fantasy and evil with crunchy guitar riffs and haunting vocals reminiscent of….nah I’m not going to compare the Rock and Roll Outlaw to him.
You won’t see a bunch of nicely dressed hotties on the front row at this show when they come through. You’ll see a bunch of scary scumbags. You gotta have balls to buy this one.
Go-Kart Records
PO Box 20
Prince St. Station
New York, NY 10012
Review by Lep

Dillinger 4
Situationist Comedy
I was hoping that Eminem’s side project D12 split up and 4 of those rappers started a punk rock band. This is not the case. D4 is a new band on FAT, and they’re awesome. They have cool cover art, cool song names like "The Father, the Son, and the homosexual / single parent" – "Fussy Pink Handcuffs" – "D4, putting the F back in ART" – and "labor issue in the toy department." If you liked Me First and the Gimme Gimmes, take away a little silliness, you got D4. If you like Strung Out, Lagwagon, and upbeat punk rock with the same feel as these FAT bands, D4 should be your next purchase.

Fat Wreck Chords
P.O. Box 193690
San Francisco. CA 94119
Review by Jason Auble

Absence of Sanity
Rat Town Comp #2
When we started Truckstop, we spent a lot of time in Orlando because that’s where the computer we were using for lay out was. Back then, there was this chick mag going around that I picked up pretty regular. It was pretty funny and most of it was a good read. Every issue had a story about a theme fund-raiser that they would do. It gave me the idea to have release parties for Truckstop. The first one was at this super small venue that let us build a little mini ramp outside. The next one was at a skatepark, and then we started having them at the Harbor Tavern. The Harbor Parties were legendary. They helped make the current parties what they are. The Harbor is this little bar at the beach that usually accommodates bikers. Once every few months we would pack that place body to body with skateboard enthusiasts and music aficionados. There was a mini ramp out back, and sponsors sent us tons of stuff to throw out, but the performances of bands like Barbarosa, Reeb, Harsh, Dulac Swade, Weedeater and others was what made the parties worth going to. A lot of these bands are on this sound track. Besides the parties, I have had the good fortune of seeing the majority of these bands on numerous occasions and they always put on a good show. These are the kind of bands that will get old timers off the couch and up to the bar. There are 20 songs on this gem from these bands; Barbarosa, Dulac Swade, Harsh, Hawg Jaw, Icepick Revival, Leech Milk, Legbone, Load, Powerball, Reeb, Spickle, Tanked, and Weedeater like everything put out on Rat Town so far, it’s all well produced and every song on it is worth listening too.
www.rattownrecords.com
Review by Lep