The Explosion

According to Mr. Webster, the word sellout means "one who has betrayed one's principles or an espoused cause." That's an interesting idea when pondering how loosely this term is used to condemn bands who refuse to do what's expected. Black Tape is nothing like the Explosion's previous work. True, it sounds more produced than Flash Flash Flash, and the frantic hell-bent sloppiness that fueled their earlier work has been transformed into perfectly placed and timed rancor, and it sounds like the singer took some vocal lessons. But what's wrong with that? Black Tape is what a Boston-based Guns 'N Roses might be doing had they not fallen prey to overblown egotism: perfectly mastered hard rock with a Ph.D. in punk.

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