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All Or Nothing - Epitaph Records
Anyone remotely connected to the punk scene should know the name Pennywise. Going for close to twenty-five years, the So-Cal punkers defined a scene and a sound over their lengthy career – becoming a legendary staple in the scene unlike any other. Their biggest criticism is that twenty years into their career, there’s not much new coming from the band. A Pennywise album is distinctively a Pennywise album; there’s no question what you’ll be getting when you see their famed logo splattered across the cover of an album.
But the announcement that long time vocalist Jim Lindberg was leaving and being replaced by Ignite’s Zoli Teglas sent shock waves through the scene. We slowly accepted it but the question remained: what will this mean for future Pennywise output? What will it sound like? Will it change or will All Or Nothing still be Pennywise as we all know and love?
The end result is that All Or Nothing falls somewhere in the middle. There’s no denying the fact that this is still a distinct Pennywise album front to back, yet there’s something new in there – a revived energy that hasn’t been in a Pennywise album for well over a decade.
Teglas’ vocals aren’t a huge shock to the system. He has a stronger reach than Lindberg did and uses that to his advantage but still stays in the same skate-punk realm that Lindberg perfected. He still has touches of Aaron Scott in his delivery but merged with mid-nineties Dexter Holland and one could say a touch of Jason Cruz too. He’s melodic but quick, catchy enough to get you singing along after a few listens to tracks like Stand Strong, Let Us Hear Your Voice and X Generation or We Have It All yet not so catchy that you’ll be singing without the album urging you on.
Musically, the band hasn’t changed much. There’s little in terms of nuances here, but the fast-paced skate punk guitar riffs don’t need much. After all, the straight forward drum beat like they have on We Have It All is all you need to create a riveting circle pit and the added guitar solo is just thrown on for good measure. On Tomorrow, the band picks it up a notch with a metallic flare like Strung Out but nine times out of ten, they stick to their skate-punk signature sound that you’ve come to expect.
Despite a new singer, All of Nothing sees Pennywise returning to their roots. They appear invigorated and refreshed on it, making it an album that excites the listener as it plays through (for more than, say, 2005’s The Fuse). Sure, it won’t leave a hugely lasting impression but it doesn’t need to. Fast and strong and then its over – just like the other eight Pennywise albums.