Looking at lyrics and statements, there are very few truly political bands in the current rock-scene. Even most of the new punk(rock) bands rather sing about confusing feelings or partying ‘till you puke. Come to think of it, Rage Against The Machine is one of the only bands in recent history that truly challenged their audience to think about their society, through the means of their lyrics. Why aren’t there more men like Zack de la Rocha, or DK’s Jello Biaffra? Probably because politics is something everybody has an opinion about, and you’ve got to be very strong in you own beliefs to defend your statements, because if you can’t, you’ll lose all you credibility, and then the songs become nothing more than hot air... On the other hand, if you do dare to speak your mind about society in your lyrics (and it is making some sense), you don’t have to be a genius musician (talented will do) to make some powerful songs. This is where Corporate Avenger comes in. A couple of men rapping and singing about freedom, equality and respect. They sound a bit like the Beasty Boys meets Insane Clown Posse. But it’s not the sound that defines this band, it’s the lyrics. Both rappers/writers Corporate and Avenger Adawee the Wind verbally assault the (American) institutions of power: law enforcement (‘Fault The Police’, ‘FBI File’, ‘Pig Is A Pig’), the government (‘Taxes Are Stealing’, ‘Voting Doesn’t Work’) and of course the Church (‘Christians Murdered Indians’, ‘The Bible Is Bullshit’, ‘Jesus Christ Homosexual’).

But unlike some other bands that lash out at certain facets of society, just for the sake of stirring up a riot, CA does indeed have an ideology (written in the booklet), which makes their remarks a lot more valid. Combine these songs, with their endless chorus chants, with some basic metal guitar riffs and catchy samples, and you know you’ve got a (controversial) floor filler. If MTV would ever quit their ridiculous censorship, and any one of the thirteen songs on ‘Freedom Is A State Of Mind’ would get some airplay, this album could seriously become a hit! Well, sort off, anyway… as a European I can relate to most subjects CA deals with, in the sense that they are indeed American problems. (Over here we’ve been laughing at Bush from day 1!) As a US citizen, I can imagine some lyrics could be considered to be confronting. But, that’s the idea, isn’t it? To sum things up: If you want to start a little anarchy, or shock the local Christians, or even just want to party and scream along to something different, buy this album. If you’re looking for innovative music, or emotional songs, or mind blowing vocals or grunts, just skip this. Or better yet, listen to it, and see if you get hooked!