QUADROPUS

Estradasphere's 3rd (or 4th, if you count their EP) release is the last we will have with Dave Murray and John Whooley, which leaves the band much at a loss for members. While this album certainly isn't bad, it lacks the flare and creativity of their first 2 CDs.

While there are some wonderful tracks, there are those really don't add anything to the album. Also, the humour has all but left the feel to the album, and while there are some instances, Body Slam always makes me smile when I listen to it, the zany humor has been taken from the overall sound. It also seems to try and rehash some of their older material, Hardball almost sounds like Hunger Strike Revisited, and some tracks just aren't that interesting, like Speck.

However, there are some wonderful tracks to make up for that which isn't all that interesting. King Krab Battle is a wonderfully cheesy Big Band Jazz piece, with some heavy metal near the end, and songs like Junge Warfare and Crystal Blue remind the us of older Estradasphere material. Mekapses Yitsonia is a wonderful folky piece that changes into a hard rocking track halfway through, and Dubway is an interesting accapella piece, by the one and onely Whoohoolicious.

A solid, if somewhat sub-par output by one of my favorite bands.

3 Stars.