by Patrick Kennedy
After reforming and dissolving Buzzov-en a number of times since 1994's Sore, and after numerous trips to the detox, founder Kirk finally settled on a line-up and recorded At a Loss. Though it's every bit Sore's equal in terms of songwriting and engineering, it's not quite as menacing, violent, or out of control. That's certainly not to say that Buzzov-en has lost a thing -- after all, even the most sedate version of this outfit could still pass for an underground dogfight any day, but during those extremely reckless years, Buzzov-en had a careless glow about them, as if they could trainwreck and explode at any given moment. At this juncture of Buzzov-en's chequered career, it had become axiomatic that the band would break up, go to rehab, get back together, and start the cycle anew. Consequently, a lot of the band's even most die-hard fans grew frustrated. In addition, through years of abuse, theft, and bad blood, Kirk had made a number of enemies across the country. Buzzov-en were equally reviled and loved, but in any case, were one of a kind in their destructive, volatile brand of Southern-fried noise metal.