Metal Underground.com

When a band brings its politics to the forefront, it often runs the risk of those politics overpowering the actual music. Fortunately, Downcount, whose lyrics are nakedly political on many songs, avoids that trap by wrapping the lyrics in tasty riffs and grooves on "Soundtrack Of The Revolution."

Singer Doug Kendall was a top-rated radio host in South Carolina, prior to starting the band with guitarist Eric Fleming. Kendall's right-wing political point-of-view comes across loud and clear on tracks like "Against The Law" and "The Time Is Now." The one time the lyrics descend into platitudes is "Come And Take It," a defense of gun rights that announces that "gun control is a steady hand."

Kendall's a more-than-solid singer, showing off what he can do melodically on the heartfelt ballad "Anniversary." He's also got a great "rock voice," adding a bit of a shout to tracks like "Backed Into A Corner" and "Altered State."

That said, the real star on the album is guitarist Eric Fleming, whose riffs and solos bring to mind everyone from Alice in Chains to Pantera. Take, for example, the opener, "Burn," which features a chunky riff and some splendid soloing. "I Regret" is another star moment for Fleming, featuring an excellent bridge and solo.

My biggest complaint, production-wise, is that Kendall's vocals get covered up in some places. It's worst in the opening of "Against The Law," though it does happen elsewhere too.

"Come And Take It," marred by lazy lyrics and some sub-par riffing, is the one truly bad song on the album. That said, occasionally, there's a been-there-done-that feel to some of the songs like "Life Support" toward the end of the album. Then again, the riffs rock hard enough that you probably won't care all that much.

It's great that Kendall and the rest of the Downcount crew have found an outlet for their political point-of-view. Even greater is the fact that "Soundtrack Of The Revolution" rocks so hard that I imagine even the biggest granola-munching hippie metalheads out there will find much to love even if they disagree with the message.