Fuck... here's some blistering hardcore/punk with an incredibly tight performance and a really unique vocal sound. It's a multi vocal attack with predominantly straight shouts and then some higher screams that make for great tradeoffs, but it's really a step aside from the usual delivery. These guys display some great songwriting that offers up tons of changes and a lot of semi complex subtleties that are pretty rare when it comes to this genre of hardcore. The songs are fast and heavy with a lot of energy, and something about this record is immediately more memorable than most of what's out there. "Death is Psychosomatic" rocks some killer bass breaks, fucked up backwards vocal effects, raging speeds, etc. "Whom the Gods Destroy... They First Make Ridiculous" infuses some brief melody thrown in with thrashy picky patterns and catchy chord progressions, and "In the Country of the Blind... The One-Eyed Man is King" introduces an awesome spoken passage. "Apparatus" is slower and driving with nice melodic lead lines and feedback over some palm-muted rhythms towards the end, etc. Side B even ends with a locked groove of an amusing sample that repeats, "Oh, how punk!" The recording is fucking awesome, too. It's perfectly mixed so that the sound isn't too raw, nor is it too polished. It accents the tightness of their playing just enough and allows the bass to carry the weight of the low-end perfectly. Nothing is dominant. This is absolutely perfect for what they're doing. The layout is all black and white with some hilarious collages of George W. Bush's head pasted onto some curiously posed nude male bodies. And his facial expressions are so fucking funny when placed in such a context... Classic. There's one band photo on the back, and I must say that the vocalist looks like a total nutcase. Good stuff. The LP comes with a small patch as well as an insert that contains all of the lyrics as well as superb details about the subject matter of the tracks, complete with personal commentary as well as quotes/documentation from a wealth of other sources. One example of the content would be their attack on the Bush administration's desire to "merge its war propaganda with the rhetoric of christian retribution..." The lyrics are more blunt and definitely make their point, though: "You stupid fucking cattle, will die for anything, In the country of the fucking blind... the one-eyed man is king." I must commend their excellent presentation of ideas in a very intelligent manner that doesn't lack any aggression. Another damn fine LP from Hardcore Holocaust. Track this one down...
[Hardcore Holocaust]
Running time - 20:00 (approximately), Tracks: 10
[Notable tracks: The Dead Sing This Hymn:, Death is Psychosomatic, The Sucking of the Missile Cock, Whom the Gods Destroy... They First Make Ridiculous, Apparatus]
Hardcore Holocaust Records - http://www.hardcoreholocaust.com
