Some say that Fugazi were the godfathers of emo. Well if that's the case then Grade were the godfathers and powerhouse of screamo. I think that Kyle Bishop has one of the all-time best screams around. Although on Grade's breakup album, Headfirst Straight To Hell, it seemed like Kyle and the rest of the band were over it. That album was a lazy, half-assed representation of the Grade I'd once given such high marks.

Alas, Bishop has betrayed the Grade and gone off to form his own band,The Black Maria. My first impression of their debut gave me the same strange mix of emotions that you get when you walk into a bathroom just after a super hot chick has just voided her bowels. It's a sad realizaton that no matter how badly she might've befouled the air you're now breathing, you'd still do her in a heartbeat.

Even more disconcerting is the sticker on the front that reads, "for fans of The Used." Before I heard note one, I'd developed a nervous twitch and a rash, still, my ears were eager for a sample. Instead of screaming his way back into my good graces, Bishop picks up the guitar and adds a little bit to Chris Gray's powerful main vocals. If you are picturing Grade part two, forget about it. The Black Maria are not the hyper, group-death, hockey-temper Canadian gnarlers. For those of you who are strictly genre driven in your musical selection, may I suggest that you file The Black Maria into your melodic/screamo with moderate extremo tendencies, section.