Band : Bullets And Octane
Album title : Laughing In The Face Of Failure
Label : Bullets And Octane LLC
Distributor : ?
Release date : 05/10/2009
Release : (double) CD (Re-issues with bonus tracks)

Originally, this now Orange County based band came from out of St. Louis (Missouri), where they were founded in December 1998. The band made its recorded debut with the 2003 EP One Night Stand Rock ‘n’ Roll on the Criterion Records imprint. That same year the band’s only DVD The Revelry came out, followed by the full-length album by the same title in 2004 (both again on Criterion, the album was later re-issued through Ares Records).

The band then signed to major record label Sony BMG’s sublabel RCA and issued the 2006 album In The Mouth Of The Young. Being signed to a major label means major label tours, and B&O toured with Avenged Sevenfold on their City Of Evil Tour before participating to the 2006 Family Values Tour, which included Deftones, Dir En Grey, Flyleaf, Korn and Stone Sour. For some reason or other (no specifics were given) the band then left RCA and returned to Ares. The band’s 3rd album Song For The Underdog came out in June 2007, while the band was touring with Unwritten Law…whose guitarist Steve Morris fell in as temporary replacement for B&O’ recently departed James Daniel. Throughout October of that same year, the band also toured the UK with The Knives. Daniels was replaced in 2008 by Kevin Tapia, ussurped in place by Kevin Besignano (also guitarist of Sex n violence). Drummer Ty Smith (himself not an original member) left to join Godhead (as well as to fill in on drums with Guttermouth and The Knives) and his place has since been seated by Brian Totten. Eventually, original lead guitarist Jack Tankersley rejoined the band (further consisting of original members Gene Luis, the singer, and Brent Clawson, the bassist) to start work on the band’s self-titled 4th album, which was released on iTunes only in April 2009.

What with the band undertaking a UK tour with Gunfire76 (a new project by the Wednesday 13 members, suited to go along with B&O’s more Rock-styled music) starting December 1st (it follows the US tour the two band are currently still on…or have just finished, depending on when you get to read this) the band announced the release of this 2-disc CD (as far back as July 10), which contains both the self-titled 2009 album and its predecessor (2007’s Song For The Underdog), plus 3 bonus tracks: a new version of their song “Pirates”, and the previously unavailable “Chemicals” and “Murder Maria” (but with a total of 26 songs, that makes the total length of the two albums amount to only 73 minutes…darn, could’ve been put on one disc, man! Obviously, this band is not ecologically-minded). Making Bullets And Octane available in fysical form for the first time!

Stylistically, B&O mix a Rock based Pop Punk with elements of Glam, and depending on the song one or the other will prevail, or not! Pounding drums, pummeling bass, and the guitars on tope nicely intwining, without too many frivolities or complexities, but with the necessary attention for lead guitar work and (short) solos. Overall however, the emphasis is on a melodic whole with a sing-along factor. At myspace.com/bulletsandoctane, you’ll find plenty of material available for you to sample, even if one of the tracks turned out to be currently unavailable). I did seem to find a certain difference between the two album though, like it seems to me the backing vocals on Song For The Underdog were a bit more harmonic. Oh well, perhaps the line-up chenges had something to do with that, eh?

83/100

Tony.