Unitron Sick Puppies - Welcome to the Real World

"Welcome to the Real World" is the debut studio album and overall second release from alternative metal/hard rock band Sick Puppies. After a somewhat sludgy and punk-y debut EP, and before switching to a mainstream alternative rock/hard rock sound, Sick Puppies went funk/rap metal with their debut studio release. This album remains quite forgotten, although I've noticed that it has gotten a bit more attention recently.

Unlike their debut EP, "Welcome to the Real World" is primarily funk/rap metal with some grunge and alternative elements. Songs like the title track, 'Duck Bite', and 'Holding Out' showcase the combination of funk/rap metal and grunge, while songs like 'Every Day' and 'Nothing Really Matters' are more of a funk/alternative metal blend. The two acoustic songs, 'Time Will Pass' and 'The Way', are just pretty boring 90's alternative rock. One song that does use alternative rock well is 'Me Much Plenty' which mixes alternative rock and heavier grunge pretty well.

The best part of the album is the funk, and Emma Anzai is one killer bassist. Just listen to some of the funky bass grooves on 'Nothing Really Matters' and 'Holding Out', especially the bridge of the former and beginning of the latter. The latter is probably my favorite on the album, as the funktastic bass mixes well with the grungy guitar work. 'Something Different' is another favorite of mine, which is more of a fast grunge song than funk. 'Rock Kids' also has great bass work, although the rapping in the song can get a bit annoying after awhile despite having truthful lyrics about the pop music industry.

Overall, while the lyrics and vocals can get a bit cheesy, "Welcome to the Real World" is still a pretty great funk/rap metal album. Unfortunately the band didn't really continue with the funk metal, as I would have loved to hear a full-fledged funk metal album from them. If you enjoy funk/rap metal, then I highly recommend this album. Hope you found this review helpful.

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Unitron Sick Puppies-Dog's Breakfast

'Dog's Breakfast' is the debut EP by Alternative metal/Hard rock band Sick Puppies. Before Sick Puppies became internationally known with their 2006 hit 'All the Same', they were one of those underground bands that were putting out high-quality music that nobody heard. This EP shows many differences from their later releases, almost sounding like an entire different band.

Unlike most alt metal bands popping up at the time, such as System of a Down, Finger Eleven, Mudvayne, and others, Sick Puppies took the doom-ridden Alice in Chains/Soundgarden route instead of the more experimental approach. This EP shows heavy use of diminished guitar chords and an overall gloomy atmosphere a la Black Sabbath. One of my favorite songs and best examples of this is 'Buried', which begins similar to Black Sabbath's 'Warning'. Soon the gloomy guitars come in with some strong raw vocals by Shimon Moore. The guitar later picks up and gets faster. 'No Hoper' is another one of my favorites, taking some rap metal influence which would be seen more in the next release. Emma Anzai gives some great gloomy bass grooves, with the guitar and drums soon picking up. 'Unbalanced' is another great doom/grunge track, with great driving guitar work coming in later.

There is also some punk influences on this release, especially the really short songs. 'Catch 22' and 'It's Like' are the two songs where I hear the punk influences. 'It's Like' features Anzai on vocals, and reminds me a lot of The Runaways. Probably the only real flaw about this release is the production, it feels less like an EP on a label, and more like an independent demo tape. It does add a raw sound to the music, which fits in this releases favor to a certain extent.

Overall, this is an excellent EP but unfortunately there were a pretty small amount of copies made so really the only way to hear it is from YouTube. I would love to have a copy, but if you did get lucky and find a copy, it most likely would be a ridiculous amount of money. So all I can really say is, give it a listen. Recommended to any fans of the gloomy side of alternative metal.

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