Stripping The Pistol - (Floga Records) ****1/2

Stripping The Pistol is a mixture of many styles, yet there is one common denominator here, the originality. This band was able to blend so much into one and come out on top. Stripping The Pistol thrives on emotions as there are plenty of them engraved in these songs. There is anger, beauty, heaviness, softness, and dual voices, all chaotically entangled. And it all comes alive with shared power. The material on this record just grabs you and continues to choke you beyond the limit.

Out of eight songs on the album, every single one stands a chance of becoming your favorite at one point in time. Currently this writer is really taken with "Gone Beautiful," but already gravitating towards "Sunshine In The Rain." There is something very disturbing about the music Stripping The Pistol plays, and it's an addiction to figure out what that is. The potential here is enormous.

This debut is released on vinyl, the way music was originally meant to be heard before the technology took over. There is however talk of other mediums being available soon. Just about everything here is perfect, except for maybe awfully glued jacket.

Mark Kadzielawa