The Killer Better Judged By Twelve Than Carried By Six

As a rule, I always listen to an album a couple of times before I decide if it is to my liking. It's not uncommon for it to take me a couple spins before a record grows on me or I am able to uncover aspects of the music that I enjoy. However, with Better Judged By Twelve Than Carried By Six by The Killer, multiple listens have not provided me with a whole lot to on which to get hooked. The record is on the first listen, and every subsequent listen, a one-dimensional, angry hardcore record that isn't trying to fool anyone. While it appears that this is exactly what the group set out to do, Better Judged . . . hasn't quite made a fan out of me. The Killer plays a style of Midwest hardcore that is advertised as "overwhelming yet bearable, destructive yet groundbreaking, mature but with youthful exuberance." I personally would have saved some time paging through the thesaurus and simply said "we play pissed off, pit-friendly hardcore," but I don't want to take away from the PR guy's literary dreams. The record is a re-release, with the first nine tracks originally released in July, 2004, and the last four recorded earlier this year. With a total running time of 43 minutes, this album is definitely too long for the musical style, but I find the newest tracks to be the best on the album, so sticking it out to the end yields some benefits. The original tracks tend to get caught up in slower, tough-guy chugging parts that become monotonous after a while, but the trio of newer original tracks, "Save Us," "Darker," and "Welcome To Chicago," are more consistently up tempo and are consequently more entertaining. The final track, a sub-par cover of Twisted Sister's "Burn In Hell," isn't really anything to get excited about unless you are, like myself, a fan of the cinematic masterpiece otherwise known as Pee Wee Herman's Big Adventure. With the exception of a couple southern-rock inspired leads that show up once in a while on the disc, the album is, as a whole, a less than memorable piece of music. The production possesses a nice gritty quality, and suits the band perfectly. Lyrically there isn't anything that really stands out, as most songs fall under the typical "fuck you" hardcore subject matter. I guess I should note that this re-release also comes with a DVD of a live show in their hometown of Chicago. After watching a couple songs though, I think it's safe to say that unless you're already a fan, this DVD won't quite convert you. Bottom Line: Better Judged By Twelve Than Carried By Six is simply an angry, heavy hardcore record that isn't breaking any musical boundaries. I respect the no-frills hardcore approach, but unless you absolutely love this slice of the hardcore genre, you won't find anything too captivating here.