Caustic Christ/R.A.M.B.O. "split" 7"
[Busted Heads]
Two Pennsylvania bands pair up for this split coming from the always awesome Swedish label Busted Heads. First up is Caustic Christ: Raging hardcore/punk... and yes, from members who have been involved with great bands like Aus Rotten and React. This is no frills material with plenty of speed, straight shouting vocals, rare little lead bursts or mid-tempo passages (see the slightly more discordant "Unfortuantely..."), etc. No metal, no melody, just straight up, pissed off, in your face fuckin' hardcore. They've got a damn nice recording, too. It's pretty fuckin' tight and clean with a great mix. There's definitely nothing wrong here. The bass tone rules, the drums sound good, the vocals are right on, and the guitars aren't too ragged, perfectly blending with the bass to form a seamless unit. Aside from one track about domestic violence, the lyrics are just about day to day shit:" Burned again, it's nothing new, I blame myself, and I blame you, Second time, then third and fourth, It's inevitable, a never ending course..." Killer. Next up is R.A.M.B.O. with three tracks of their highly political hardcore. I haven't heard that much of their stuff, but these songs are a little bit more dissonant and darker musically than what I was expecting. "More Than Just Escapism" actually has a surprisingly massive breakdown, though there's still plenty of blistering speed and gruff screaming to go around and keep things clearly in line. These dudes recorded at the same studio as Caustic Christ, so they too have a nice sound. It's not quite as crisp, but it's damn close. They're a little bit heavier though, so I dig it. I fucking love their lyrics and song explanations as well, notably "40's are for Molotovs": "One little 40oz. bottle of malt liquor can stand for so much: Crap consumerism, corporate control, racist advertising, and economic segregation. These are all tools used to hold us down. At the same time this very bottle can be reconfigured for a new potential: To literally set the state on fire with the very apparatus they intend to pacify us with..." The 7" comes in a full color sleeve with artwork on each side. The front has a weird illustration of a businessman in the snow having his entrails eaten by animals, and the back has a Black Flag looking thing going on. Good stuff. Check this out. (7/10)
Running time - 8:00 (approximately), Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: 13, Unfortunately..., More Than Just Escapism]
Busted Heads - http://www.bustedheads.com

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