"Three"
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"This is some catchy noise-punk. They take some of the better elements of the stop-start, off-time heavy
acts out there like The Jesus Lizard, Die 116 and Helmet. This time around topped with some southern
rock leanings, as 2002's More Like A Gunshot Than A Car Wreck (on Crucial Blast and Berserker), was
more straight-up math-rock. Ah, the bass - she really rumbles this time around too! The timing and chord
changes are originally written, and although they sonically have ties to the AmReptile 'school of noise',
Below the Sound hold their own, with a sound that's all their own. All the highlights of a good record are
here: heavy, catchy, and most importantly, different." Feast of Hate and Fear 06/16/2006

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"This is minimalistic, clangy, noisy rock with lots of emphasis on repetitive riffs, the bass
upfront in the mix, and shouted/screamed vocals.  Reminds me of Jesus Lizard, Fugazi, Helmet,
Cop Shoot Cop, Nomeansno, Sonic Youth and even Nirvana blended with a bit of Black Flag style
hardcore.  It’s abrasive, ugly, and angry, and yet still kind of catchy.  Not necessarily
groundbreaking, but certainly distinctive.  And at least to my ears, quite good.   It feels maybe
a little short for an album, but better to leave people wanting more than to wear out your welcome. 
If you like dark and noisy stuff that still has hooks, definitely look into this band."  
Bob Ignizio - Utter Trash 02/03/2006
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"More Like a Gunshot Than a Car Wreck"
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Below the Sound remind me of one of the greatest bands ever, The Minutemen. They have the
same penchant for minimalist, driving punk rock with vocals shouted in like manifestos. Below
the Sound also recall the Dead Kennedy's style but mix it with Gang of Four repetitiveness. Their
style manages to be consistently interesting and entertaining and especially great for driving
100 miles an hour to.

drew - RoadBurn 06/2003
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"Wow, along with the Superhighway Carfire disc, I've been having a flashback weekend to my
tenure as an indie record buyer in the late '80s. Superhighway leans towards the Unsane style
of ballistic churn Below the Sound were fed as feral cubs at the nip of Chicago's art-plus-punk
-vs.-rock nexus that gifted us with Big Black and The Effigies who begat Tar. Here, the urge to
rock-out new style succeeds while sidestepping rote hardcore and duh-metal without defaulting
into the "industrial pit" hole where Ministry merged duh and rote into a career after that good
record I don't have anymore.

Below the Sound compact dry, nagging riffs with a mechanical rabbit-punch wacking you from
different angles until your whole body's been worked over by a sock fulla golfballs instead of a
single whomp to the ass. It lacks the braying bravado of stoner rock, its roots in legwarmer-era
metal without chilling out too far. If Janitor Joe had cut a half dozen records and toured
constantly, or if Rollins had been able to break The Mark of Cain stateside, there'd've been a
footpath for you to stroll to Below the Sound's house. Whack through the woods anyway and go
see these guys if they play in your burg. Catch More Like... at the home of Weedeater, Totimoshi,
and Spickle."

Craig Regala - LOLLIPOP MAG
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"Aggressive, hard and to the point is one way to describe Below the Sound. Their music is full
of energy- super straight ahead rock- up tempo and tight...

Imagine more of the up tempo earlier Helmet stuff- musically it is similar in a lot of ways. Mostly
the more straight forward material, Below the Sound has a little of that kind of thing happening.
It also reminds me of early Jesus Lizard, and the vocals overall are more melodic than either of
those bands and with a way different approach. Below the Sound definitely has a little of their
own thing happening to be tagged exactly like one thing or another though. It's all fast and furious
and never let’s up for a second through out the CD.

The guitar tones are overdriven and warm, and there are a lot of riffs that the bass and guitar
play simultaneously- with the guitar playing higher notes instead of power chords a lot. Great
unique ideas going on between the stringed instruments. The bass is a pounding sound that is
overdriven and fat...big and warm. The drums are always on target- and totally pull this band
along for the ride. Overall these guys are tight and well rehearsed.

You can also tell that there are some hardcore/punk influences. It's a good mix, and I am
playing this one a few times before retiring it in the collection...to pull out once in a while and
say 'hey, this is a pretty damn good cd!'."

Rob Wrong - STONNERROCK.COM
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More Like a Gunshot than a Car Wreck is the follow up to Below the Sound's self-titled debut
release (2001, Dirty Decibel Records). A six-track affair, this album is an earful of lo-fi
fuzzed-out noise rock that will make you wonder if Cop Shoot Cop weren't back in the game again.
Headquartered in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the trio consists of brothers Chris and Brian Roy
(ex-Mindwar) on guitar and drums, and Dennis Ponozzo (ex-The Resistance) on bass and vocals.
With Ponozzo pushing the lead, there's more than a passing resemblance to other similarly-fronted
bands (see the aforementioned Cop Shoot Cop), but that's not to say Below the Sound doesn't have
a distinct musical dictionary of their own to draw upon. Quite the contrary. Ponozzo's lean but
furious bass lines give Chris Roy ample room to compliment and contrast Ponozzo's playing with
his own similarly-fueled guitar distortion, while brother Brian's drumming provides a thunderous
backdrop of syncopation. Angular and precise, visceral yet methodic, the trio's sound cuts a primal
swath of amphetamine-driven thinking man's noise rock that blisters and burns like the hot New
Mexico sun. Even though this release clocks in with a brief six tracks, More Like a Gunshot is a
welcome sophomore effort from a band who will hopefully be giving us some more eagerly awaited
output in the months to come. File comfortably alongside Jesus Lizard and The Cutthroats 9.

Craig Young - EAR POLLUTION 12/02/2002.
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Quite a quirky little beast is 7 track release on Berserker/Crucial Blast. Punk, hardcore, post
punk and heavy rock mixin' it up amidst a sprinkling of the nu-school. The drums play heavily
syncopated beats, tied seamlessly to the throbbing bass. Guitars stay mainly in the mid to high
ranges, buzzing around your head like angry bees, though at the very end of closing track
"Hot Blooded Animal" these bee's get lower and heavier for a great finale. The vocals bark and
spit but never lose the melody. It's all heavy and angry and unique, though fairly consistent over
the course of the album. It's very hard to describe or use references. Closest I could come is
Fugazi, Joy Division's heavier moments, Clutch and Negative Approach's more mid-paced
moments all mixed up...confused? told ya it was a unique sound.

Michael Ballue - HELLRIDE MUSIC
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"Below the Sound"
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Admittedly, I haven't spent much time in the eastern portion of these United States. But I've
spent more than my share of time listening to bands born and bred in cities like Chicago and
New York, and find that I have some sort of cosmic connection with the gritty, foundry edged
guitar sound produced by such bands as Quicksand, The Jesus Lizard, Girls Against Boys (the
early stuff, anyway) and others. So, too, apparently, do the members of Albuquerque's Below
the Sound. 

It hardly ever rains here in New Mexico, but I can cast a forbidding dark cloud over my psyche
anytime I feel like it just by spinning Below the Sound's 2001 self-titled disc. Theirs is the kind
of music that seeps in between the cracks of my musical cortex, flushing out the various traces
of candy ass pop, mindless power pop and commercial radio drivel that sometimes makes me
feel as though there's no hope for the future--it's like a metal lavage, just what the doctor
ordered. Part intricate mathrock, part unapologetic East Coast swill-core, Below the Sound
are a punishing blend of everything I love about heavy rock. 

The new record, More Like a Gunshot Than a Car Wreck (Berserker), is literally the best local
CD I've listened to all year. Don't miss Below the Sound before they head out on tour, or kick
your own ass repeatedly.

Michael Henningsen (the Alibi)
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