Here's the most recent full-length from this diehard heavy metal trio that lives to fuckin' rock. Think classic heavy metal with a little bit of a punk rock sort of thing coming in via a major Mot?rhead influence. They don't fuck around and actually kick things off right away with a cover of Iron Maiden's classic "Running Free" (starting a record with a cover is a pretty god damn bold move, too), which sets the pace for most of their original material as well. Expect really catchy, rocked out metal tunes with simple chord progressions, bluesy lead breaks, tempos that tend be energetically speedy but do offer a few more moderate paces, and gruff singing that's pretty comparable to Lemmy's patented delivery. "She'd Look Better (With a Black Eye)" is midpaced and maybe a little more straightforward (not that any of this stuff strays from the formula, per se); and "Aim Low" is another of the slower pieces and has a few different styles of lead passages, from those reminiscent of Kiss at their best to those with more of a British dual guitar harmony aesthetic. But "None For You", "Strangers in the Night", and "Don't Ride With Superchrist" are among the outright catchiest songs herein, standing out as the most memorable and consistently fired up (with the covers of course leaving a mark as well). Speaking of which, towards the end of the disc is another cover, this time "Metropolis" by Mot?rhead, which of course fits in perfectly with the band's originals - albeit a bit slower and darker. The recording's a little dry and has a bit of a dated sound to it (possibly intentionally), and it works, but the vocals benefit the most from the recording techniques. The drums sound alright, but most of the instrumentation needs a little more meat to it. The guitars are pretty thin and have a lot of upper-midrange going on, the bass can get lost in the shuffle, etc. The solos sound perfect, and as mentioned the vocals are dead on, but a bit more crispness and low-end would really help out the instrumentation. The layout keeps it really simple with some live band shots (black and white) and plain text over gray backgrounds for the lyrics and such. As song titles like "She'd Look Better (With a Black Eye)" and "Drink or Drown" might suggest, expect tongue-in-cheek tales of sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll for the lyrical content: "Don't ride with Superchrist, 'cause we don't swing that way, Don't die with your dick in your hand, at least not today, We're useless and you need to learn, You think it's love, but you're getting burned..." Good stuff. These guys are definitely awesome songwriters (Okay, well, the lyric could use some work, but...) who are very good at what they do and pull off this approach without a hitch. I'll be looking forward to hearing more. And seriously, with a little more oomph to the recording? Shit, they'll just hammer it on home...
[Autopsy Kitchen]
Running time - 29:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: Running Free, None For You, Strangers in the Night, Don't Ride With Superchrist]
Autopsy Kitchen Records - http://www.autopsykitchen.cjb.net
