*** Pennywise

STRAIGHT AHEAD

(Epitaph)

Ten years ago Pennywise had two things going for them: they brought heavy-metal gallop into their punk rock, and they sounded a lot like fellow SoCal punks Bad Religion. Today, in the world of platinum punkers, where bigger bands produce better songs by applying modern recording techniques to vintage sounds, Pennywise are in danger of being forgotten, or else remembered as Worse Religion.

Either fate would be a shame, since Straight Ahead does more than just apply Metallica precision to Bad Religion chord progressions. Pennywise break up the monotony of punk metal by employing mid-tempos on "My Own Country" and "Alien" and by shading their tried-and-true thrashers with convincing vocal harmonies and loud-soft dynamics ("Straight Ahead" and "Greed"). The songs underneath the fixings and new tempos -- most of which have a bittersweet hardcore feel characterized by flowing melancholy melodies offset by jerky, staccato riffs -- show that finally Pennywise aren't following any religion but their own.

-- Lorne Behrman