Rage and Fury in Bloomington, MN

At the time of this album's release,
Steel Pulse
's core membership had dwindled to three: drummer
Steve "Grizzly" Nesbitt
, keyboardist
Selwyn "Bumbo" Brown
, and singer/guitarist
David Hinds
. The band's sound, however, remains tight and heavy, laying the electronic sheen of modern dancehall over the heavyweight one-drop beat and conscious lyrics of classic roots reggae.
may never again achieve the inspired heights of their earlier work (particularly the stunning
Tribute to the Martyrs
and the hooky, forward-looking
True Democracy
), but
Rage and Fury
shows that no one needs to write the band any epitaphs just yet.
"Role Model"
rocks with a solid hip-hop/reggae groove and features a fine cameo by
DJ Mega Banton
;
Jukie Ranks
contributes to the equally hard
"I Spy."
The mood is lightened considerably by a cover (perhaps not entirely necessary) of
Van Morrison
's
"Brown-Eyed Girl,"
but things get heavy again quickly with an updated version of
"Ku Klux Klan"
(originally recorded on
Handsworth Revolution
,
's debut album), which appears again in a jungle remix at the album's end. Highly recommended. ~ Rick Anderson