Intriguing. Last time I listened to the Backyard Babies was when when their Diesel & Power album come out, altogether missing the release of Total 13 two years later. So it`s pretty hard to grasp the sound of the Backyard Babies of today - back then, which is around 1994, they used to sound like a better copy of Guns `n Roses with a slight hint of AC/DC. Right now? Can`t find that much Guns `n Roses anymore, Making Enemies Is Good sounds a lot more like AC/DC meets the Sex Pistols. Fresh, poppy punksongs that are pretty easy when you look at the song-structure, but still have their own identity. Especially "Payback", "Brand New Hate", "Colours" and "The Kids Are Right" have a twist that makes them stick in your head for a while after you`ve heard them.

However, there are just as many songs on the album that are not as memorable, songs that are too cliché that they get lost just as easy between the others. I`m hinting at "Star Wars" or "Heaven 2.9", for instance; still, overall there`s a pretty good level of musicianship on the album.

But for a band that openened for AC/DC, Kiss and other big names we don`t have to doubt that. Nicke and Dregen also had plenty of experience in Entombed and the Hellacopters respectively, and it helps a lot that the production is slick and smooth - nothing short of what an album like this needs, courtesy of Thomas Skogsberg and Joe Baresi. Even the sleeve design and the sleeve itself, printed on slick greasy paper, give a finishing touch to the album.

So am I bothered that heavily by the few un-memorable songs? I don`t know. If Backyard Babies were a fresh, small band I would have given them a considerable higher mark. But with their reputation, and the fact that I like their Diesel & Power style better, I cannot find myself to grade the album higher than a 7.5; perhaps after a couple of listens, this grade will go up, but it`s better to go and listen to this album yourself.