Blaze Of Incompetence

Having only heard a bit of 16's debut disc Drop Out from a year back, I had not really gotten into the band or remembered much of their sound. Was I on crack then? I dunno, but the fact of the matter is that this record (and band) rocks out big time! Kind of a match between the throat-wretching assault of Machine Head and the distorted Fudge Tunnel sound (Alex Newport produces), but add in the grooves and riff-heavy power and diversity of any SoCal band. I even hear shades of Only Living Witness (whom I cherish). Nonetheless, the music hits you right between the eyes. Sounds cliche but this fucker flies off the handle from the get-go. Not many bands can keep a heavy thing like this under control, but 16 manages to keep the music very rounded and versatile - still keeping the listener interested. Sounds like a full-scale riot if ya ask me. Heaviness prevails once again and I'm praying that 16 hopefully does see some more exposure in the future as they do deserve it. Good record and a good thing the band has the right feel to creating music. -chroniclesofchaos.com