C Average

When one thinks of two-piece rock'n'roll bands, visions of bands like Deja Voodoo or Mecca Normal come to mind, all playing their own brand of quirky music designed around the fact they have a less-than-full group with which to work. C Average are a little different. They're a two-piece who play full-on, tuned down guitar and double kick drum doom-mongering heavy metal. There are all the cornerstones of an epic metal record here, with "Starhok," the six-minute album-opening instrumental, busting out both Van Halen and Sabbath-like styles throughout its sonic "journey." Also present is a multi-tiered concept piece, the 45-minute "Prolock (The Protector)," which will have Rush fans and Dungeons and Dragons enthusiasts alike cheering for more. This brings us to the obvious question: "Is this just a joke?" It is funny in an overall, conceptual sense, but there are very few humorous chinks in the armour of these rock'n'roll warriors. The only one involves a crank phone call on a "gaming store" clerk. Let's just leave it at this; this record could be easily mistaken for a "real" doom metal record that just had its bass turned all the way down.