Damn, here's some brutal hardcore/punk from Michigan with a mix of raging speeds and darker pounding rhythms, as well as scathing vocal screams and a few blistering chaotic solos (actually they're more like noisy outbursts). This is actually a lot more aggressive than I had expected it to be, and a bit heavier as well. The look of the record (you know, torn black and white collages, the Discharge ripoff logo, etc.) had me thinking this might be straight D-beat stuff, but that's actually not the case at all. The first couple of tracks have interesting intros but sort of blast away into blurs of speed without a lot of differentiation. "Drug of Choice" is the first song that's more rhythmically rounded out, and similarly "End Result/Gonna Die" is slower and gives the instrumentation a little bit more definition all around, which is very cool. They've definitely got a raw sound, but it works very well. The mix is pretty good and there's some solid density, but I'd give it more bass guitar at times, because the bass sounds great when given some room. The layout rules. The sleeve is all black and white with shitloads of collaged imagery that really has that classic feel. There are photos, political collages, images of classic records (everyone from Negative Approach to Anti-Cimex), tons of studded jackets and patches, the works. The sleeve folds out to reveal a poster of Pushead styled artwork and lettering that is basically a copy of the Septic Death style, replacing the band name and art with Feast or Famine's own. The lyrics range from typical political attacks to songs about record collecting, so it's obvious that with a slogan like "Thrash from the past." these guys are serious! All in all this is a good record that could be better, but they've got a lot of potential and aesthetically this EP is dead on (as is the attitude), and that can make a huge difference when it comes to this kind of thing. I'd like to hear less of a focus on the stagnant speed in favor of more developed tracks like "End Result/Gonna Die", but this is certainly a band to watch out for.
[Battlkry]
Running time - 13:00 (approximately), Tracks: 7
[Notable tracks: More of Us Than Them, Drug of Choice, End Result/Gonna Die]
Feast or Famine - [email protected]
