This is a split demo between two Reno acts. Bafabegiya (featuring ex-members of This Computer Kills and current members of Crucial Attack) starts off with nine tracks of fast hardcore fronted by forceful shouting vocals. It's not straightforward, though. There's an abrasive edge plus tons of really creative uses of melodic chords and dissonance, with slight feedback hums and such. Overall it has a real 90's hardcore/punk feel, definitely coming off like something that would've been going on in the mid-90's. And they drop a cover of the Gorilla Biscuits' "New Direction", too! I like this. They've got a really interesting blend of influences. I hear some old school hardcore but they don't sound old school, there's a dark edge but no real metal, etc. The recording is really muddy and the vocals are a little out front, so a ton of detail gets lost, but there's enough room to hear that these guys are competent musicians and writers, despite the lack of clarity. Lyrically the band deals with socio-political content as well as some smaller scale issues still associated with the scene, everything from racism and the current political climate of the US to D.I.Y. shows. Dog Assassin plays similarly fast-ish hardcore/punk that's more straightforward, often with a snotty ring to the yelling vocals and fewer nuances to the writing. Their use of speed is more consistent, but in tracks like "Your Time is Up" they drop some raging vocal patterns that add a lot of energy to their delivery. Songs like "Armies Motto" even end up having a bit of that East Bay sort of sound, with all of the intensity but less melody, which is great. Their sound is just as raw as Bafabegiya's, but there's more treble, so it sounds a bit more balanced in some ways, but I'd say it's really fairly equally messy. But again, it's decent enough to get a good grasp on what's going on. I'd say the lyrics are similar as well, though for these guys everything is more directly political and stripped down, opposing war and hypocrisy while championing animal rights and resistance, etc. For a D.I.Y. effort this $2 cassette looks great. Believe it or not they actually had the cassettes professionally duplicated (I can't remember the last time I saw a demo like that!), and the xeroxed sleeve looks nice as well. The cover art is a familiar looking woodcut image that I think I've seen used before, and each band gets one side of the insert for lyrics and other such information. The whole deal is hand-numbered out of 250 copies. Good work. Both bands need stronger recordings, but I like the songs, and would especially like to hear more from Bafabegiya.
[self-released]
Running time - 30:00 (approximately), Tracks: 18
[Notable tracks: Los Caballeros Nuevos, Primitive Affluence, New Direction, Your Time is Up, Armies Motto]
Dog Assassin, 324 E. Taylor St., Reno, NV 89502 -
