Impulse Manslaughter "Live at WFMU" CD
[Beer City]
Son of a bitch! This rips! I've never heard of this band and I fucking demand to know why! This is great, raging hardcore/punk from the late-80's/early-90's. The core of the disc is a live set recorded on WFMU radio in 1993, then they fill it out with a selection of tracks from the band's older releases such as their split 7" with Provocation, the "Sometimes" 7", and the "Logical End" and "He Who Laughs Last... Laughs Alone" LP's (plus compilation tracks, outtakes, and an unreleased song). Musically this is fast material based around blistering hardcore with a tinge of crossover and grind, and the vocals are absolutely incredible over the top yells that lend a crusty edge to things. Some of the driving rhythms also have that crusty edge, and tracks like "Crimes" are even a little more melodic/metallic. Included in the live set is a cover of Discharge's "A Hell on Earth", so I guess that also hints at a share of the band's influences. The vast majority of the tracks run right around a minute or less, while "Deceived" is by far the longest track at nearly five minutes, following a much slower and heavier set of metallic chord progressions. "Sometimes" is another of the longer tracks, also generally slower and more melodic in a sense (not to mention darker), this time heavily driven by prominent bass runs and some leads. The older tracks from the two LP's aren't as extreme, obviously, with a thinner sound and more of a traditional hardcore/punk edge to the vocals and whatnot - though still flirting with some high speeds and more abrasive shouting vocals. Of course there are a few duplicate tracks, but I'm not bothered by that. The recordings are all good, too. The mastering could've been better because the output volumes fluctuate noticeably with each session, but the actual recordings, while different, are all fine. Even the live songs, while a bit noisier, are really fucking good considering. Some of the material sounds dated, but they are older tracks, so that makes perfect sense. The bass is always really prominent, the vocals sound forceful (especially on the newer songs), the drums and guitars are in a good position, etc. The layout keeps it simple with a little bit of artwork, a band logo, brief notes on the tracklist, and the lyrics to a handful of the songs. The tracks deal with a variety of topics from the media and political manipulation of fear to everyday hardships and anger. "It's just a fact of life, You've gotta accept the fact that things aren't going to have to stay the same, And you're not the only one hoping they would stay, Why can't you put as much power of your feelings into something useful to make an effort to overcome and make a new life for yourself?" Overall I enjoy the lyrics and find them to be far more tactfully handled than most. All in all this is a great collection of songs from a highly underrated band. I think this disc could've been handled better, I would've loved to get more lyrics and more information about the band, but fuck it... check this shit out. Fans of fast hardcore that has an early west coast power violence/grind tinge should absolutely seek this out. I'm definitely gonna try and track down more from these guys. Why the fuck don't these dudes get talked about more often? Shit, I know they didn't rewrite any books on this stuff, but this is a ripper of a CD. (7/10)
Running time - 67:02, Tracks: 38
[Notable tracks: Blanket of Fear, Crimes, Deceived, Sometimes, Vomitheads, They Start the War, and plenty others...]
Beer City Records - http://www.beercityrecords.com

This review has been displayed 1696 times.