Rock 'n' roll will never die, which may explain why so many of its elder practitioners look like they're molded from reanimated flesh (have you seen a Velvet Revolver video?). In spite of rock's Lazarus-like will to live, 2004 was the year of anti-rockism, the fiery debate fueled by the modest suggestion that a Britney Spears single might warrant the same consideration as the new AC/DC DVD. In the face of such mutiny, the Midnight Evils do all they can to stay the course: slamming a few extra PBRs, growing the chops extra thick, and keeping the whole damn wreck of a ship blazin' full speed ahead. It's no coincidence we name them Best Rock Band just about every time they release a new CD. There isn't a band in the Midwest that all-caps-ROCKS like the Evils. They're not the best band in town, sure, but they're the rock band, no question, and if they keep bringing noise like last month's Breakin' It Down, 11 hard and fast tracks that do no such thing (in fact, it picks up where 2003's Straight 'Til Morning left off, never mind they lost a singer in the meantime), they just might keep the title ad infinitum. After all, that's the moral of Breakin' It Down, the Midnight Evils, and the whole undying zombie that is rock 'n' roll: The distortion pedals, like the beer, will always do the job, and some things really never do change.