Backstabbers Incorporated "Bare as Bones" CD
[Blackmarket]
This is a killer collection CD from this blazing metallic hardcore band that flies through 26 tracks in 36 minutes. Included are the tracks from the "Theory/History" 7", the "Evolution" 7", the "Bad Cop/No Cop" split 7" with Advocate, the band's demo, and then there are some compilation/unreleased songs as well. Vicious breakdowns, powerful rhythms, chaotic arrangements, subtle melody (and I do mean subtle), plenty of dissonance, a little bit of old school hardcore/punk, some grinding metal, blistering and relentless vocals screams, the works. The majority of this material is a lot more cohesive and easier to follow than their record on Trash Art! was, so I generally enjoy this even more. Shit, tracks like "I'll Cut My Hair When You Pick Up That Name You Just Dropped" even have a Scandinavian crust sort of feel, sort of like if Tragedy was actually from Sweden, but faster! "Sergeant Gun in Mouth Reporting for Duty" is one of the "longer" tracks at two-and-a-half minutes, starting out slow and sludgy with some deeper vocal growls, and eventually blowing up into a complete wall of noise and feedback. There are still tons of breakneck changes and the songs are somewhat complicated in their own right, but this stuff is definitely more to the point, and absolutely more memorable. Two covers are included as well - Youth of Today's "Expectations" and Token Entry's "Jaybird". As for the recordings, the "Theory/History" stuff sounds great, it's bright, abrasive, but well rounded by the rhythm section. The material from the "Evolution" session is a lot rawer and thinner, with a really weak and unnatural snare sound that cuts through the mix. But the "Bad Cop/No Cop" songs are evenly mixed with a much more suitable drum sound, and the roughness really works out great for their style. The demo tracks were recorded on a 4-track, so of course they're very dirty and totally raw, driven by vocals and messy distortion, with bass and drums in the distance, and guitars sort of falling apart. I can make some sense of it, it's not unlistenable, but it definitely sounds pretty inefficient compared to the rest of the disc. The layout looks awesome. There are some great dull colors and textures underneath a high contrast band photo, and a picture of everyone's favorite blood-gushing suicide victim (Bud Dwyer) on the cover. The text is compact and the font rules, and the lyrics are included along with recording information and original release details for all of the tracks. Very nice. This band definitely has the best song titles ever. Sure, they're long and sarcastic, but they're bitter, and they're actually amusing, unlike most of these bands. Plus, the lyrics carry that same bitter wit, so I'm all for it. "The end. The fucking end. I don't need to see the whites of your eyes to open fire this time. No fucking names, no fucking faces, only moving targets; this is fucking war. And when the dust settles, I'll be the one picking up the bodies and filling holes with wasted space..." Some of the songs run together, so there are only 24 actual tracks on the disc, but unless there's a song missing somewhere I think everything's here. Definitely check into this if you like it fast and wild. Good work. (7/10)
Running time - 36:03, Tracks: 26
[Notable tracks: Right on, Man... and Once We're Done Bombing Those Fuckers, Let's Go Back to My House and Rub One Off to the Image of Ashleigh Banfield on My 35-Inch Flatscreen TV, I'll Cut My Hair When You Pick Up That Name You Just Dropped, Sergeant Gun in Mouth Report]
Blackmarket Activities - http://www.blackmarketactivities.com

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