Usually putting the Devil, or something that looks like the Devil, on your cover art is a pretty powerful statement meant to say that you’re about to listen to the Devil’s music. But I can’t imagine anyone calling Jud a pristine example of anything other than solid rock with no mythological affiliation one way or the other. And what is this “Suffer” in the Sufferboy they refer to? I wasn’t suffering, in fact I was delighted. Normally when I see numerous music reviews from German media make me think of the guy that sings the “Berserker” song in Clerks. Not that I’m judging.

But the bizarre thing about Sufferboy is that it’s not anyone thing and instead seems to be a demo reel of “Here’s what we can do.” Take track 8 for example, it’s got some biting classic punk riffs as well as hard edged lyrical delivery that makes you think for a second that you’re listening to 70s punk from the streets of England; especially when the word “Sorrow” is screamed over and over again. And speaking of vintage, rewind back to “Daylight” on track 4 and have a listen to something that could have been produced for Green Day or Offspring back in the mid-90s. And call me kooky, but it almost seemed that I detected a hint of Creed in track 6’s low key “Cowboy Songs.”

I don’t know if its schizophrenia, or just a really diverse rock music pallet that Jud’s operating off of, but clearly there’s talent here and clearly we have a group deserving of a wider audience and acclaim. The album can get moody, and then immediately with the next track in can be up tempo and dance worthy. It can be as sullen as a rainy day, or it can rock out with the best of them. Like one of those boxes of chocolate from the famous saying, Jud’s latestis a random mixed bag of deliciousness that gives something new in every bite and can quench, to a percentage, the musical tastes of fans of the Sex Pistols to fans of Nirvana. Suffer boy? Hardly.

1. Bright White Light
2. Drained
3. Universal
4. Daylight
5. Accelerate
6. Cowboy Song
7. The Maggots
8. What Are You Made For
9. Asylum
10. That's Life
11. Chasing The Pain Away
12. Satisfy
13. Unle