Bishop - Drugs

Many kids are familiar with Bishop (Formerly xBishopx), and they seem like a band that you either love or hate. They put out their first full-length on Ferret Records in 2006 entitled 'Suicide Party' which was a hate filled, pounding, straight edge explosion full of breakdowns and lyrics that a lot of kids could really grab a hold of.

For the same reason that a lot of people like them, a lot of people don't. A lot of kids push them off as an ignorant tough guy band that only cares about how cr00sh the mosh gets. I think 'Drugs' is going to do a lot to challenge that perception of them (if those kids will even give it a fair shake).

It's obvious that in the time between 'Suicide Party' and 'Drugs' that Bishop (still straight edge) has really decided to take things in a more serious direction. 'Suicide Party' was over the top a lot of the time, and 'Drugs' isn't. The lyrics are not as inflammatory (but still loaded to the brim with hate and aggression) and for the most part, huge stereotypical breakdowns are gone. There are still tons of heavy moments on this album that those same kids will love, but there is a little more originality and maturity this time around.

That stands for the whole record. 'Suicide Party' could've been coined as cookie cutter to an extent and they have done a lot to alleviate that with 'Drugs'. There is a lot of variety on this album, every song tries to do something different and for the most part they succeed. I guess the sound of this album could be described as 'thrashier' than 'Suicide Party'. It certaintly has a different sound. Mean Pete still lives up to his name as being a mean sounding guy and his lyrics are still cutting and the intensity of 'Suicide Party' is still here, but to me, this just sounds like a more honest hardcore record.

I think that Bishop has a great oppurtunity here to expand their base of fans outside of just angry straight edge kids, and that many people who have wrote them off before will be surprised with this effort. From the fact that it's self-released (through Dead Truth Recordings) to just the new direction the music has taken, I hope you check it out.

Bishop on MySpace
Dead Truth Recordings
Bishop : Dead Truth Webstore