Street Sweeper Social Club Mops Up

Street Sweeper Social Club answers the question what would Rage Against the Machine sound like without Zac de la Roca. Whether or not you like them depends on what camp you are in...Do you prefer the metallic street funk guitar of Tom Morello or do you like the screamed intelligent rhymes of Zac. It's a matter of choice because to be honest, both bands are so completely similar to each other it's almost as if Rage Against the Machine never broke up, they just spun off and formed new groups.

SSSC's self titled debut album, is overflowing with chunky riffs, funky guitar runs and enough godly guitar work to make Guitar Hero pick up the phone. Tom just lays down heavy churning riff after heavy churning riff rolling over everything. His work crushes everything in it's path leaving an eleven track trail of destruction that you won't soon forget. The guy hasn't changed his formula in nearly twenty years and why should he, he's one of the most prolific metal guitarist's out there and you know him when you hear his Abrams Tank for a guitar.

Bootsy Collins is the perfect fit for SSSC. First of all, the guy just looks the part and if your name is Bootsy, you darn well better have that look in order to carry it off. He does and he's one heck of a vocalist; throwing out rhymes and lyrics out there with a bit less chaos than you might expect. This is a good thing because rather than bashing you over the head with a heaving helping of anger, Bootsy slices and dices his way through with a surprising sense of melody and several of the songs on the album are memorable for that very reason. See, "The Oath," for a perfect example of this.

Street Sweeper Social Club is a brutal album that goes for the jugular; it's heavy, funky, and refuses to take any prisoners. No, it's not Rage Against the Machine part two. It's something more, it's dynamic and deep and actually has a sense of harmony about it. This is a record that wants you to remember everything it has to say and it will do anything it takes to make sure you do; you'll walk away from this album with a scar so that you'll never forget.