Music
Press
by Bryan Keim
DATE: March, 2002
SUBJECT: Rezin - "Summer of the Brain Dead Everyone"
When I review a CD of a band that I like, I'll listen to it for 3 days non-stop. Well, with Rezin and their CD, "Summer of the Brain Dead Everyone," I've never taken it out.... This is probably the best production of beautifully written lyrics and musical composition I've ever heard. There is nothing better then being able to hear every instrument and every tone produced. Most bands CD's don't quite do them justice after you've seen a live performance... Rezin's does... even though most of your more popular (crap) bands will spend thousands and thousands of dollars recording... (Like Korn... Their next album cost them MILLIONS of dollars to produce and I'm willing to bet that it won't sound any different then the others....)
Since I had the pleasure of seeing Rezin live before owning the CD I've come to a few conclusions.... 1. They like what they play and they're doing it for themselves... 2. They do #1 really well...
I'd like to say sh*t and fu$k more when describing them because they deserve it. The people in the band have created a sonic continuum that will not be matched by bands of their type... Categorically speaking... redundantly uttered...
Pete Swindler is the Captain Crunch of the band... Besides being an amazing writer and guitar player, he is probably one of the few people I have ever talked to that uses words that I don't understand... (And it is not from his many years spent as a nerd.) The throat on this guy is golden... His style of singing brings out a layer of music that has been pushed aside by the crap that I made reference to earlier... There is a certain emotion that a singer needs to compliment the music he is fronting, and Pete does this with balls the size of ptarmigan. (Look it up and laugh)(Online Dictionary) (Picture of a ptarmigan from Merrium Webster Online)
Following Pete on the guitars is Andy Hughes... A fine strapping young lad... Oh wait wrong review... Andy is a fu$king scientist on the guitar... Time and time again I am impressed with the layers that he and Pete create on the album... it actually pisses me off that people have that much talent and I can only see them once a month.... Andy works his fingers on the boards in a jazzy style... He makes it look effortless (which pisses me off also.) His overall sound created on this disc jumps out when he picks up the banjo... where did that come from??? But it works perfectly...damn it...
With those two flying on the high end, Jon Blank is bringing in the low-end theories.... I have actually found myself following his bass line through the whole disc... I never can hear the bass at live shows, because the only number on Pete and Andy's amps is 10.... That, and there is a moderate amount of incompetence behind the boards... On the disc he comes through brilliantly... You must have ability as a bass player to fill in gaps and create the valleys through which the Guitars and Drums create as peaks, and he does it masterfully... Now, he is a long hair, but I won't hold that against him.
Last but not least... Matt Collazo... The Italian Stallion... yes this is the review... Matt is the rhythm that sometimes holds the band together... Now don't condemn him... Pete's writings could funk any drummer up on a daily basis... Matt brings some great drumming to the disc... The rolling soft Toms (that is an actual drum) during some of the songs is a classic touch! Most drummers have their heads wound so tight during recording it sounds like a Muppet Babies drum set from K-mart... Great speed and accuracy is provided through out the entire disc.... He provides a solid foundation that Rezin stands on...
If you don't listen to this disc loud... then you will never know anything about this band... listening to them quietly as background music is retarded.... Every time I put this on at home I spend 5 minutes picking up things that fell of the counters or tables from the vibrations.... LOUD, LOUD, LOUD... Break apart the CD and look for problem spots... you won't find sh*t.... These guys are another "Why aren't you famous yet" bands.... Sometimes record people are so stupid it makes me tired!
On a side note: thank god they don't dress like rock stars... - www.thelab-pa.com/reviews/bryansreview02.html
Discography
Four full length CDs
Stanley (1998)
-SOLD OUT-
Summer of the Brain Dead Everyone (2000)
Everything Happens (2004)
Aim Lower (2006)
All releases are available at www.CDbaby.com and ITunes as well as most other digital outlets like Napster & Verizion
Photos
Bio
Four men, one giant sound. The Washington D.C. quartet called Rezin has been making music since 1992, but it may be 2006 that the hard-rocking band finally starts to break out onto the national scene.
For the past seven years, the current lineup of Pete Swindler (guitar, vocals), Andy Hughes (guitar), Jon Blank (bass) and Matt Collazo (drums) has been getting its chops right. Aim Lower is where they will start to soar.
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Armed with intimate lyrics, intertwining guitars and a bombastic rhythm section, Rezin raises the roof in 2006 with the release of their fourth full-length CD, the powerful "Aim Lower".
The Washington, D.C. quartet of Pete Swindler (guitar, vocals), Andy Hughes
(guitar), Jon Blank (bass) and Matt Collazo (drums) has been together for
seven years, and it shows. Swindler and Hughes seamlessly trade licks behind Swindler‚s substantive vocals. Collazo is a hard hitter, making a big sound
on the skins, while Blank brings in a variety of styles to complete the wall of driving blues-based hard rock.
"I definitely think there‚s been a progression, Swindler said of the band's time together. Now we sound more like one instrument than a band."
And that instrument creates a distinct sound apparent on their previous releases: Stanley (1998), Summer of the Brain Dead Everyone (2000) and
Everything Happens (2004). While their albums are top-notch, the band really shines in a live setting, where its individual members have more room to
freestyle and play off each other‚s strengths.
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Heavy. Organic. Melodic. Persistent. Intimate. Creative. Texture. Powerful. True .
These are words that have been used to describe Rezin, a four-piece hard rock band hailing from Washington D.C. that will be tearing down a bar near
you very soon. With four albums, including the recently-released "Aim Lower", fans know what they're getting when they come to see Rezin live: Not
only will they be challenged by Pete Swindler‚s provocative lyrics and powerful guitar interplay with Andy Hughes, but their ears may bleed from
the driving rhythm section of bassist Jon Blank and drummer Matt Collazo.
Rezin rocks. In fact, the band tears it up on its albums and absolutely shreds live performances.
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