{"id":27801,"date":"2013-03-02T00:40:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-02T05:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=27801"},"modified":"2019-01-21T15:14:20","modified_gmt":"2019-01-21T20:14:20","slug":"flotsam-and-jetsam-cuatro-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/flotsam-and-jetsam-cuatro-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Flotsam and Jetsam | Cuatro<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by John Kindred<\/span>
\n– Publisher —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"FlotsamIn 2008, Metal Mind Productions re-released Flotsam and Jetsam\u2019s studio album Cuatro<\/em>. This was the fourth album released by Flotsam and Jetsam and originally was released by MCA Records on Oct. 13, 1992. The re-release is re-mastered and features five bonus tracks, four audio and one video track of \u201cWading Through the Darkness,\u201d as well new packing and liner notes from Eric A.K., Jason Ward and Ed Carlson. With an initial pressing of only 2,000 copies, this truly is a limited collector\u2019s edition for die-hard Flotsam and Jetsam fans.<\/p>\n

Cuatro<\/em> finds Flotsam and Jetsam, again, working with a new bassist, Jason Ward. Ward became the band\u2019s fourth bass player, a position originally held by Jason Newstead. Alongside vocalist Eric A.K., guitarists Edward Carlson and Michael Gilbert and drummer Kelly David-Smith, Ward and company delivered one of the band\u2019s best albums in its catalog. Cuatro<\/em> was the first of the albums to be produced by the famous Neil Kernon, who brought the band\u2019s music to the next level. While Kernon provided oversight over the band\u2019s compositions and the album\u2019s pristine production, Ward became part of the band\u2019s writing team. Ward brought his riffs and ideas into the mix, which added a new dynamic edge to the band\u2019s music.<\/p>\n

The original album features 12 songs. With Kernon guiding the ship, the music is anything but typical thrash or speed metal. The reality is the music pushes into the realm of progressive metal with elements of thrash and speed metal intertwined. Kernon pushed Eric A.K. to sing from his gut, making his vocal performance stronger and more powerful. The flawless production manages to balance all the instruments into a cohesive presentation. Bass, drums and vocals, all, are audible. <\/p>\n

The songwriting process of the band pretty much involved the entire band. It also included the \u201csixth\u201d member of the group, Eric Braverman, the production coordinator who is credited on all but two songs on the album. Another surprise contributor is none other than Soundgarden\u2019s vocalist Chris Cornell (listed as Christopher Cornell in the liner notes) who co-wrote \u201cThe Message\u201d with Flotsam and Jetsam.<\/p>\n

Metal Mind Productions\u2019 2008 re-release of Cuatro<\/em> offers fans a nice digipak limited edition of their beloved band Flotsam and Jetsam. The bonus tracks include two more versions of \u201cWading Through the Darkness,\u201d which are a radio edit and industrial mix; an edited version of \u201cCradle Me Now\u201d and an additional unheard song \u201cDate With a Hole.\u201d The quality of the video of \u201cWading Through the Darkness\u201d is just OK. It looks like it\u2019s been pulled from a video tape transfer; however, the audio quality is fine.<\/p>\n

Up until this re-release, Cuatro<\/em> has been out of print. Used copies could be picked up at used CD shops or eBay. Metal Mind Productions give possible new fan and old fans, alike, the opportunity to own a piece of metal history and rediscover or discover an overlooked and talented band. While this version of Cuatro was released in 2008, copies continue to be available for purchased here<\/a>. On April 16, Flotsam and Jetsam are set to release their newest CD titled Ugly Noise<\/em> on Metal Blade.<\/p>\n

Genre: Thrash Metal, Speed Metal, Progressive Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nEric A.K. \u2013 lead, background vocals
\nEdward Carlson \u2013 guitars, background vocals
\nMichael Gilbert \u2013 guitars, background vocals
\nJason B. Ward \u2013 bass guitar, background vocals
\nKelly David-Smith \u2013 drums, background vocals<\/p>\n

Track Listing:
\n1.\tNatural Enemies
\n2.\tSwatting At Flies
\n3.\tThe Message (Carlson, Knutson, Ward, Smith, Gilbert, Cornell)
\n4.\tCradle Me Now (Carlson, Knutson, Ward, Smith, Gilbert)
\n5.\tWading Through The Darkness
\n6.\tDouble Zero
\n7.\tNever To Reveal
\n8.\tForget About Heaven
\n9.\tSecret Square”
\n10.\tHypodermic Midnight Snack
\n11.\tAre You Willing”
\n12.\t(Ain’t Nothing Gonna) Save This World<\/p>\n

2008 Metal Mind re-release bonus tracks<\/p>\n

13. Date With Hate” (Carlson, Knutson, Ward, Smith, Gilbert, Ellefson)
\n14. Wading Through The Darkness” (radio edit)
\n15. Wading Through The Darkness” (industrial mix)
\n16. Cradle Me Now” (edit version)
\n17. Wading Through The Darkness” (video)<\/p>\n

Label: Metal Mind Productions<\/p>\n

Web: http:\/\/www.flotsam-and-jetsam.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 9\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by John Kindred – Publisher — In 2008, Metal Mind Productions re-released Flotsam and Jetsam\u2019s studio album Cuatro. This was the fourth album released by Flotsam and Jetsam and originally was released by MCA Records […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":27802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,2026,1163,5955,1098,334,1099,1101,7160],"class_list":{"0":"post-27801","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-arcrvws2013","8":"tag-cd","9":"tag-flotsam-and-jetsam","10":"tag-metal-blade","11":"tag-metal-mind-productions","12":"tag-progressive-metal","13":"tag-review","14":"tag-speed-metal","15":"tag-thrash-metal","16":"tag-ugly-noise"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27801"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27801\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27802"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}