Reviewed by Ian Martin

Presented on his website as an "artist/producer who brings forth a message of encouragement and deliverance", this San Diego-based artist was also impressively signed to Grapetree records in 1995. There is no doubt that Fazeblaze brings a clear, unabashed message in his lyrics but his delivery is consistently outdated and low quality. There are many repeated lines between tracks including cringe-worthy rhymes employing cheesy slang. For instance in "Warrior" the artist claims he will "keep it hot like lava/giving all the praise to (his) everlasting father". At first it appears as though this album is directed towards children, however the constant references to "haters" and "players" makes this seem unlikely. The artist sings frequently in a flat manner, and his rap is badly syncopated with the beat. In other words he is "floeticaly" challenged. There is little musical diversity between tracks with many of the same synthesised sounds repeated. The positive note about the music is that there is some excellent guitar playing exhibited. This however makes the listener question why the artist did not stick to his blues/hard rock roots instead of stepping into the rap arena. This record is firmly rap/rock, with the emphasis strongly on rock. It sounds as if the artist is trying to emulate the sound of popular groups in this genre such as Limp Bizkit or Kid Rock, but this project sounds rather more like an adolescent demo tape.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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