Review: Wreckage “This is America” 7”

Former members of Balance of Terror and Self Defense dropping some no frills hardcore/punk with a great dose of moderate speed and awesome vocal yells that have a bitter ring to 'em and add a lot of attitude and identity to the band. The songwriting is a good mix of classic styled hardcore with both aggression and more rocked out undercurrents, so things are hard hitting without being truly heavy. "Serve in Silence", for example, is much more rocked out with some simple lead breaks and whatnot, while the end of "No More Fuckers" is much heavier and darker with slower riffing that almost hits on a punked out Black Sabbath vibe. The recording is really nice because it's thick and natural without overloading the distortion or anything, the bass tone is really prominent and thickens up the core power, while the guitars aren't that heavily distorted and have a good open tone. The vocals and everything are mixed tightly together with no gaps, so this sounds very good for what it is - a little rough and totally effective. The record comes in a black and white sleeve strewn with images of cowboys, bullets, and bones, plus a large xeroxed insert with additional artwork, lyrics, etc. Most of the lyrics are on the political side, some quite bleak: "A doomed society has its place among the ashes of the past, Mistakes fade like skin and bone, during the silence after the flash..." Good stuff. Short, simple, to the point. I like it.

[Busted Heads]
Running time - 9:00 (approximately), Tracks: 6
[Notable tracks: Can't Relate, No More Fuckers]
Busted Heads - http://www.bustedheads.com