Strung Out-Prototypes and Painkillers
Fat
March 31, 2009

I can't think of any band that has gone through such a musical transformation while keeping their sound relatively in tact besides Strung Out. At the very least, no band has done it any smoother, and Prototypes and Painkillers is over an hour of proof. Outtakes, B-Sides, etc shows the journey that this band has taken, from their barely audible (but still enjoyable) cover of "I'm Not a Loser" to the enlightening "Novacan" to the melodic fun of "Barfly" to the oldy but goodie "Season of the Witch." Their transistion to metal experimentation (more aptly: more guitar work) is apparent on here as well, as a good amount of these songs came after The Element of Sonic Defiance.

This is a pretty must have for fans of Strung Out, especially those looking to complete their collection. With such a vast amount of songs, its nice to get a chance to hear everything (or close to it) they have done. Getting to read little blips about each song on here is a nice little treat, even though I realized that I really didn't follow their history as much as I thought I did.

Written by: RF
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