Whoever said all Christian punk was "do-gooder trash that needs to go to hell" was wrong. Oh wait, that was me. So I was wrong.

I picked up this CD from a band I had never heard of after I saw Mest at a concert sponsored by a local radio station. I was there to see Good Charlotte, but that was totally before "Lifestyles Of The Rich And Famous." So Mest came on, and I found myself doing this half mosh, half stoner head-bang to their single"Cadillac." After I listened to the whole CD, Destination Unknown , I was happy to discover a delightfully crass, yet completely insightful party album that parents might actually approve of.

"Cadillac" is the album's first single. It's basically a look into one night of drinking and getting stoned, and finding comfort through your belligerence from that one person who always makes you feel guarded and not so much like the fuck-up that you are. The band packs a cornucopia of musical influences into this one song. It starts off with a rapid guitar riff, reminiscent of early Green Day. The chorus is slowed down to a mellower riff with more hip-hop undertones. It finishes with a more abated reggae feel. Farther in, the seventh song on the disc, "It's Over," is a friend's testimony of his feelings toward his best friend's girlfriend, and her interference in their friendship. Sounds sweet, but the lyrics are delivered in a frantic conveyance, backed by only a fast guitar tune that makes you forget the touching inner meaning and turns this song into a great mosher. The best song on this CD is the hidden track, which plays two minutes after the last song, "Living Dead," ends. The track is a mellow, reggae ditty with a blasting horn in the background that makes you want to sit back, take a hit and ponder some of the simpler things in life.

One song that didn't go over so well was "Breakin' Down." After experiencing an album such as this one, I feel a certain loyalty to Mest. I won't say that this song is completely terrible; it's not. But it doesn't live up to the potential shown in the other thirteen tracks. Its message is somewhat obscure, and the lyrics are little more than brainless. Example: "Breakin', breakin', she's breakin' down. Breakin', breakin', she's breakin' down." Plus the music sounds like the same watered-down crap you hear on every pop-punk album these days. Let this one slide, since the rest of the album is full of pure, unadulterated party favorites. Skip over number nine, and you're golden.

Definitely pick this one up; it's a steal at eight dollars, plus your Bible-thumping friends will love you for it.

Rating: A-

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