The Diary of a Hobbyist

SCORE: 67/100 Losing Deron Miller kind of took away the band really sounding like themselves, but the instrumentation of this album acts as a saving grace before it became unsalvageable. It's clear that the band technically could've kept going without Miller, but it really shows why they chose not to keep recording albums after the release of 'The Phoenix' in 2017'. This album isn't bad by any means, but it doesn't sound how you would expect a CKY album to in a way that isn't quite as welcomed as their other more experimental projects. Ginsburg acts well enough as the new front/vocalist for the band, but it makes this album sound less like a CKY album and more like an album by a different band entirely. This isn't a horrible thing by any means, but this album is lacking considerably when compared to their previous works. 'Carver City' was the start of the band having less memorability in their music, and this album is good for what it is - bu...

SCORE: 95/100 It's clear that this album doesn't quite have the same grit as their previous projects, but it manages to hit just the same. 'Carver City' has a more modernized sound (for the time period that the album came out in) while still keeping the band's edge, and the performances here are as heavy as you would want them to be. 'Carver City' feels like a very nice blend of their previous two projects, but it isn't quite as memorable as their other bodies of work due to there not being any real "big" songs on this album like their other albums had. It follows the same structure that 'An Ånswer Can Be Found' when it comes to the songs being consistent (without there being many standout tracks by name in particular, which isn't a bad thing in CKY's case), but the sound of the project style wise is more similar to 'Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild' due to its heavier edge. This album manages to exceed expectations in terms o...

SCORE: 96/100      CKY's third album is a bit more grunge-esque than their previous two albums. It shows the band in a new light as they step into a new and fitting musical direction that they had very clearly gotten down properly before putting it to the test on 'An Ånswer Can Be Found'.  The album feels a bit lighter than their previous projects while keeping the same amount of edge as their heavier & rougher projects. Their ability to pick up a new sound after their previous work is deeply impressive and applaudable - but it's a bit of an unexpected shift if you don't know what you're getting into with this album in particular. It isn't quite as layered and heavy sonically as their previous two projects - but it feels like a breath of fresh air into their discography that kept them from doing the same thing too many times. If this album had followed the same sound or structure as their previous albums it would've made the project feel uninspired s...

SCORE: 100/100 'Infiltrate•Destroy•Rebuild' is widely considered to be CKY's best project - gaining acclaim for the band after they polished up their style from 'Volume 1' and added more substance to their already pristine sound. The tracks pack the same amount of punch as the starters of their debut while keeping a more consistent tone and energy to the album and experimenting more with genre-hopping. It's a more consistent project when compared to their debut - an impressive feat when considering how cohesive their debut managed to be. It's clear that the band worked together very well at this still-early point in their career, and the musical direction of this album is considerably impressive and more full of depth than their previous work. The songs manage to keep up the same pace and stay on the same level while each individual member of the four-piece band is showcases throughout the layered and stunning compositions of each track. The instrumental per...

CKY's debut album 'Volume 1' is a wonderful time capsule of the 90s-2000s skate scene the band was so affiliated with. The oftentimes brash and unapologetically gritty sound of songs like '96 Quite Bitter Beings' and 'Disengage the Simulator' drive the album into underground greatness. SCORE: 98/100 It keeps it's boldness and moves from subgenre to subgenre, from Marilyn Manson-esque one minute to nearly undefinable and certainly not up for comparison tracks the next, 'Volume 1' showcases the individual skillsets of the members of the band while staying true and masterfully capturing how well the members worked together on one of their earliest projects that would become a good chunk of the soundtrack to the CKY films and related culture that came with them. Deron Miller and Jess Margera both bring the album to their highest points with the masterclass help of Chad I Ginsburg - a band this early into their career and so relatively unknown hypothe...