After a sea of less-than-interesting demo tapes causing me to contemplate violent outbursts, the comedic styling of comic and That Metal Show co-host Jim Florentine comes my way through his latest release Cringe ‘n’ Purge. I must admit, I watch the metal show with careful trepidation every week because, quite frankly, I find it completely biased and one-dimensional, saying nothing for the bands they cover. Sitting through terribly insipid rounds of this “Stump the Trunk” is mind-numbing considering I could go up there and DESTROY him in any facet of metal trivia at any given time on any given day…and that’s without the pre-written cards from staffers and staunch dismissal of anything harder than Ratt. All of that anger aside, Florentine’s comedic delivery in the live setting reminds me a bit of Norm Macdonald in the total deadpan affect that makes borderline jokes even better. This CD is very entertaining and legitimately funny.

While my personal laugh-out-loud factor seemingly died with Mr. George Carlin, this CD has a lot of really good moments of genuinely funny material. Jim’s matter-of-fact tone usually spills out with veritable ease without overdoing his stick, allowing the material to sell itself. The crowd seems to be vibrant and energetic as Florentine’s topical slants on everything from stupid superstitions to old-school parents are really hilarious, especially when he goes on about modern technology vexing older folks. The great thing about Jim Florentine is how he doesn’t really go too far into a character and ruin it; his familiar vocal tone is what actually makes the material all the more funny. His rant about texting and its various abbreviated jargon is nothing short of epic in itself. When his spiel about “Religion” starts out with him espousing the virtues of a potential daughter being a lesbian it takes on a life of its own when he touches on racial boundaries with pinpoint perfection. He handles otherwise offensive and potentially line-crossing jokes with such ingenuity that you can’t help but laugh at even the most narrowing topics.

I will admit the Slayer bit was hilarious, albeit a bit eyebrow lifting from a personal stance. Without giving too much away, I will say that in all of my years of listening to Slayer (and this goes back 27 years) I’ve never once heard a fellow brother go up to an attractive female in high school and whine about Slayer and Metallica fighting in the media. In fact, strangely enough, it was we metalheads that got the better looking girls here in Chicago, but we may be the sparing anomaly. But, hey, it’s all comedic styling and it’s otherwise curiously accurate and relatable for us metal fans of old. That little personal nuance aside, the rant about Slayer fans was otherwise spot-on, as well as his little mention of Rob Halford. All I can say is I patiently await Mr. Halford’s next appearance on That Metal Show to see if a retort for Florentine’s analogy about singing high holds with the Metal God! Nope…not going to give it away; go buy the CD and hear it for yourself. However, comparing his opening comedy slot on the Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax tour of 2010 to “emceeing a rape” is out-of-the-blue hilarious because it eventually make perfect sense. It has to be heard by all guys 30 and older who saw Slayer back in the day and remember just how it was to see the band live in a sea of insane, dedicated bangers.  

Cringe ‘n’ Purge is a truly solid 45-minutes of funny anecdotes and musings that you can keep going back to because it’s the sort of material you’ll be vainly trying to recreate for your friends in casual conversation. Florentine is genuinely funny, providing a sincere sense of humor with his material that is both fresh and resonating due in large part to his ability to keep everything low-key and real. This is a comedic winner all around.         

TRACK LISTING

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*Comments:

1.  No Apologies
2.  Superstitions
3.  Gay Guys
4.  Old School Parents
5.  Religion
6.  Opening for Slayer
7.  Hip Hop Stinks
8.  Sex Jokes
9.  Kids

Total playing time:  45:26

Release Date: October 11, 2011
Label: Metal Blade Records

Jim Florentine - Cringe 'n' Purge

Reviewer: Chris

October 8, 2011