'H.V.Y.1' showcases Stuck Mojo's raw fury

"H.V.Y.1" succeeds at being a live album because it showcases the group in all its raw fury. You get to hear the group's strengths and weaknesses pretty clearly from this release.

The 100 percent lean guitar riffs of Rich Howard and the rock-solid rhythm section of bassist Corey Lowery and drummer Bud Fontsere, is impeccable here at dishing out the group's pummeling sound. Songs like "Mental Meltdown" and "Crooked Figurehead" plow through your speakers with a vengeance.

Then there's Stuck Mojo's singer, Bonz. The man has plenty of charisma in person and a venomous lyrical pen but lacks the voice to really fill out the overall picture of his group's aggressive music. His voice sounds too laid back to be paired with heavy, guitar driven music.

The mixing on this album was done by heavy music studio whiz, Andy Sneap, who has done a marvelous job at bringing out a manly guitar sound and keeping the crowd noises to a bearable volume in the mix. This is a live album, though, so there are still plenty of places on this release where the crowd's roars perfectly convey the excitement at the show. Most notable of these crowd cheers was when Bonz declared how after the show he would, "twist a fat joint to smoke."

If you can overlook Bonz's rather timid sounding voice, "H.V.Y.1" actually has a bit to offer to those who enjoy their music live and testosterone drenched.

09-28-99