Somehow, Words Just Don't Cut It
Long story short, the Blackmarket Activities/Metalblade debut by the Murfreesboro, Tennessee quintet The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza is a blistering and daring take on the increasingly monotonous metalcore genre. Danza II: the Electric Boogaloo has put The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza on the cutting edge of the metalcore scene with their incendiary combination of dizzying riffs, hammering drum beats and brutal breakdowns that is sure to please a range of listeners. I personally enjoyed a lot of the tech metal musicianship, and I found it amazing that despite the lack of obvious "hooks" in the music, I couldn't stop listening.
I also found the tech-metal aspect of the record to be a breath of fresh air from the stifling smog that is the typical metalcore style of songwriting used by many bands today. I also enjoyed the seemingly erratic style of song writing employed on the record: The band doesn't beat the listener over the head with a million measures of the same riff, but rather the riffs on the record are short lived yet fused together with seamless transitions.
One drawback to the record is the band's frequent use of skits and interludes, which to me added absolutely nothing to the album and only served to detract from its pace and flow.
Despite this, Danza II: the Electric Boogaloo has set The Tony Danza Tapdance Extravaganza off to a great start, and equipped with their genre-defying combination of math-metal and hardcore, one can expect great things to come from these guys in the future. All things considered, this record is a relentless 30-something minute assault on the listener that will leave one speechless and begging for more.
For Fans of: The Dillinger Escape Plan, the Chariot, Into the Moat