Review: Last Laugh “Demo 2004” CD

This killer Finnish act contains members of Bleeding Heart and Cutdown and plays crossover hardcore with a sense of humor (As indicated by song titles like "I'll Kick You in the Nuts", though some of the material is pretty in your face - "Left it All Behind" anyone?). It's heavy without being all that metallic, certainly not as heavy as many of the Finnish bands I know and love, and keeps the tempos consistent from moderately paced old school styled hardcore to slightly faster 80's crossover riffing. The vocals are also really cool because they're just straight yells, they're not forced or over the top at all, so they really fit the style of the music perfectly. Most of the songs are a minute or so in length, and they keep things straightforward and simple. "Hitler Was a Nazi" is a little catchier, with the brief "I'll Kick You in the Nuts" taking a much faster road at just 10 seconds in length! "Left it All Behind" is more of a no bullshit NYHC track with a slight metallic crunch, but they stay away from most of that stuff elsewhere. The recording's raw but works out fine since the mix is even. The vocals are a little distant and lack clarity, and I'm not making out much bass, but they pull it off. The drums are fairly crisp and the guitar tone dominates the material, so that's good. And hell, it's just a 10-minute demo, so screw it, it plays just fine. The CD-R comes with a xeroxed booklet that keeps it simple with straight text and a crude illustration that looks to be Judge Dredd or something. The lyrics are pretty over the top and range from being stabbed in the back to insincerity within the hardcore scene, as well as violence, revenge, etc. "Told you fucking once, don't make me tell you twice. Just leave me alone and let me live my own life. Every fucking thing you say I've heard so many times before. Shut your fucking mouth or you're gonna hit the floor." I really like this. The artwork is weak and a stronger recording would make one hell of a difference, but the overall style and delivery are both on point. I'd love to see these guys drop a full-length on Full House Records or something. This is a great demo, I'll be really let down if these guys don't do something with this band. Keep an eye out, there's some good shit here.