Entertainment Tuesday • December 2 : Save Ferris offers poor start with first album O ne-hit wonder bands are the norm for the ’90s, and one area where most of them can be found is in the genre of ska music. This is especially true when a band’s hit single is not even its original song. Save Ferris is just one band prov ing this condition exists with their new album it means everything. First and foremost, the band’s lead singer, Monique Powell, must have it in her mind she is Gwen Steffani of No Doubt. The vocal styles are the same, and the horns blow the same garage tunes. Granted, Powell’s voice is sharp and unwavering, but in the long run, Save Ferris will probably see no more success than David Bowie teaming up with Trent Reznor to cre ate a spiritual song about the many ways God represents an American. Still, the band is fun to listen to — a good buy for people who desire something to keep their heads bobbing during a road trip. The No Doubt allusion, howev er, rings true even in song titles. Featured on No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom are songs such as “World Go ’Round,” “Sixteen” and “Differ ent People.” On Save Ferris’ it means everything, “The World Is New,” “Under 21” and “Little Dif ferences” make appearances. The band’s rendition of “Come On Eileen” is a snazzy revamping of the original, but most remakes are the same. All it takes is a younger generation of musicians to retool a song many people have forgotten. The only drawback to this is once the remake starts get ting airplay, the older version somehow makes its way back to the radio. But on a good note, or remake for that matter, the band’s sound is older than No Doubt’s and other ska bands; it is more classical. With lyrics from “Goodbye” such as, “Hey cool cat / Does this apply to you / Don’t you lie / ’Cause you can’t hide the truth,” the band makes a good impression. It knows the time frame in which ska music would work — a black-and-white film with hip characters who burst into song at the drop of a hat or the twirl of a trenchcoat. There is still room for Save Fer ris to grow. On one of the band's tracks, “Spam” — well, the title alone should be enough to convey the band needs time to work on new ma terial. “Spam it’s pink and it’s oval / Spam, I buy it at the Mobil,” gives listen ers a reason to either laugh out loud or turn the music down, way down. Moreover, there still will be compar isons to No Doubt — Steffani and her boys assuredly winning the race. For now, Save Ferris should stop worrying about catchy song ti tles or horns and drums beating to a different tune from other ska bands. It should focus on lyrics that are a bit more meaningful and take the rest from there. Save Ferris may not be as “sick” as the character portrayed by Matthew Broderick, but the band could use a hand in achieving individual stabili ty for its future success. — By James Francis rTrs«2JSE»r-#:e£ Save Ferris it means everything Starpool Records ★★ 1/2 (out of five) Reload comes off h. cocked for Metallic; ■ 11 Ti L M etallica’s new release Reload, the sister album to their 1996 release Load, is proof the kings of mainstream metal are dethroned. Reload continues the trend the band set with Load: selling out hardcore met al for mediocrity. From the musical styles on both al bums to the cover of the album, donned in blood and semen, the para doxes between Reload and its prede cessor are undeniable. One big difference between the al bums still remains — as much as Load strayed from Metallica’s original style, it still doesn’t come close to being as bad as Reload. The new 13-track album offers nothing new for music lovers from the pop/alter native crap getting air play these days. OK, maybe it is slightly better than other radio S/ crap, but if r" Y pn tld Metallica ReLoad Electra Records ★ * (out of five) the Metallicas of past and present were rated against each other on a scale from one to 10 — Metallica old: 11, Metalli ca new: -5. With albums such as ReLoad, Metallica has no chance of redeeming themselves to their old fans — fans who at one time couldn’t control the banging of their heads and fists to the metal artistry of Master of Puppets. Ever since the band members trad ed their matted, long locks for short hairdos, the music went downhill. Co incidence — I think not. Metallica’s music from the days be fore load had so many fast-paced changes, you didn’t know from one beat to the next whether to sway or mosh. Metallica since is predictable. If judged just by the song titles, some of the tracks on ReLoad, such as "Devil’s Dance" and“Bad$et; promising. But once thealbui CD player, this promisegoesi Perhaps the only good son album is “Unforgiven II,"asp “Unforgiven” from their'92si Cl). The two songs soundver and contain similar themes,\ slight differences betweenil;.)v| and there. to I ley guys, I have an idea- H leave the remixes up to/od But really, when the bests || album is a new old tune, the all real problems. While them lacking, lames vocals growl tht | stereo speake force of thetra cy Metallica. Heoi Y better. It make wonder whyH hasn’t kickedtl band member: going so soft. Metallica, do t a favor. The nexttfe want to product iti it uinil'i ,i newb name. That way, at least thedeJL metal Metallica fan won't ac. buy your album. But in all fairness, maybe Is ing down a little too hardontb They have been making music years now, and ingivingtl \( efit of the doubt, chalk this late lease up to musical evolution In lari, mam argueasabai they must progress with theniw) around them. But if ReLoad\n\ of a band’s progression, thenp ' sion sucks. In the words of my 17-yearu ter, “Uh, Pel oa