If you've heard Brian Posehn in his debut full-length comedy album Live In: Nerd Rage, and if you liked it, you will enjoy this a great deal. New jokes, some bits you may recognize, and it's one of those things you should have ready for road trips-- your friends will appreciate it, even if you aren't refined enough to dig it.
The album basically is split in two parts: 49 minutes of comedy and 8 minutes of heavy metal. Being a huge fan of that particular style of music, what essentially amounts to a 45's worth of material is tacked on at the end as bonus tracks. One, "More Metal Than You," is basically your standard-issue novelty song with an all-star cast of top-notch musical talent. The other, "The Gambler," is indeed a cover of the Kenny Rogers song and is arguably an improvement. Posehn works with such musicians as Anthrax' Scott Ian and has essentially formed the basis for what would have made a great metal cover album. If these people get together and release an album of awful songs covered as metal tunes, count me in.
So, the comedy. If your entire exposure to the standup of Mr. Posehn is fairly limited you need to run out and give these a listen. Your subjects and references should pretty much appeal to all young adults and generally 40-something comedy fans, covering such material as Star Wars, heavy metal, and how much Los Angeles sucks. Hearing his bit about his stand-in for a duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi is likely to make you pee yourself giggling or cringe, and an extended segment on what happens in Vegas will most likely not encourage you to desire to go to Vegas. It's on par for Posehn, which is to say, sharp and extremely funny.
If you buy everything with Posehn's name on the disc, you may recognize a couple of gags which appeared on CDs you likely will never own. (That's a note for you comedy CD collectors out there.) I can't think of a reason for you to not check this out. Sure, the metal songs are a little out-of-place on a comedy album, but younger fans should enjoy a listen and are probably hoping that they cover other songs that nobody likes, such as "Abra Cadabra" or anything by Ace of Base.
--Adam Pawlus
June 14, 2010
