Year:2010 Genre:Hardcore Punk Label: Unknown Tracks: 3 Length: 6 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
Low Places are a hardcore punk group from L.A., California! It is the first release by the band and a couple of other E.P.'s have been released by the band since. Soon a 12" record called "Spiritual Healing" will be released by the band on A389 Recordings as well. I don't know a ton else about the band, but they can either be really fast or really slow, and these guys are very much "hardcore", in the musical sense, at least... I mean, just look at that cover! Exploded humans! Cool! But I digress... it's time to do that thing I do...
1. Sleeping In Feedback. And then a droning, low-pitched riff commences. It's like the Melvins if they were more serious... actually, that's pretty lazy of me to say, this doesn't sound very much like the Melvins at all besides being slow and heavy. Oh, wait, nevermind, they do remind me of the Melvins a little bit. But the singer screams. More fucking screaming... and it's not fucking awesome screaming like the Accused, but hey, it's their band, should they sound exactly like the Accused? WELL WHY THE FUCK NOT? I LOVE THE ACCUSED! Anyways, yeah, I'll just namedrop some more Seattle-originating punk/metal hybrid bands and not fucking talk about the song. And then I'll be self-critical and throw you some more proverbial curveballs. Heh-heh... "Balls". HAHAHAHAHA! The guitar feels pretty goddamn chuggin', like one would chug a bottle of milk, perhaps. The middle part is all fast! Fuck yeah!! Nice guitar riff also... it's a very pissed off song. I think these guys were totally not happy when they recorded/wrote it. It's just too bad I don't know the lyrics. Hey, Low Places, wanna tell me your lyrics, maybe?? PLEEEEAZE??!!
2. Detached This one's real awesome as well. Starts off with a beat that kinda gets you revved up for action, and then it really fucking kicks off and gets really loud. FAST! YES! AWESOME FURIOUS GUITAR RIFF AND DRUMMING AND SCREAMIN' LIKE A DEMON AND ALL THAT STUFF. Y'know, it's like the kind of song you intentionally get into a car wreck to. Because you're just so DETACHED!!
3. The Doors Are Closing Starts off with a sample of some people talking and then some guy says "The Doors Are Closing". Then the song begins. It's very slow and massive. Then the band kicks into thrash mode, and this goes on for a bit until the band becomes backed into a corner. The singer begins lashing back out at the listener, screaming his shit while the rest of the band has calmed down a bit. More people talking. That's all.
So that's my review for the day... this band seems to pump out a lot of stuff in a short amount of time, so we'll probably hear more about Low Places on the site again. If anyone has lyrics or additional info on this group, then lemme know. The songs are equally good I'd say, but I do appreciate the short/sweetness of numero two. Can't go wrong with a short fast song. Unless it sucks. But that song didn't suck. So we're okay. The tape is out of print so you can download the record for free off of the band's BandCamp website. I'll be back with another review tomorrow.
Year: 1989 Genre: Doom Metal/Hardcore Punk Label: Boner Records Tracks: 17 Length: 35 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
"Ozma" is the second full-length record from the Melvins... shortly after the release of their first album, the Melvins split with Matt Lukin and decided to move down south out of the redneck shithole known as Aberdeen, Washington to the more musically happening land of San Francisco, California! There they met a new bass guitarist named Lori Black who previously was in a thrash band called Clown Alley and also the daughter of the actress Shirley Temple! I believe Buzzo even was dating her for awhile but I'm not entirely sure if this iz a fact or not. At this time they also got signed to a new label called Boner Records which was apparently reliable enough to release 6 more albums for the band within the next several years... Boner Records is run by Tom Flynn, a member of Fang. He also played bass for the Melvins for a short while when Lorax was sick and Slammytown was in prison for you-know-what...
In a lot of ways Ozma is very musically similar to Gluey Porch Treatments, but there are subtle differences between the two... first off, the mix on this record feels a bit weaker... the drums are louder than the guitars... I usually look to the Melvins for heavy, powerful guitar riffs, but on this album the guitar feels a bit more muffled than it should. Nonetheless, it doesn't really ruin this album. Also, as weird as GPT was, this album is a bit more, well, weird in composition, and the songs are even more unpredictable... not as Black Sabbath-y and more Black Flag-y here. Probably the closest a Melvins record gets to sounding like a Black Flag record production wise... would remind me of "My War" if the drums weren't as trebly. It's still an fucking great record that would blow me away if it came out todday but I find it to be the weakest Melvins record of the pre-Atlantic period since it has a few too many so-so songs and the production have as much of an "oomph" to it. But I'm not here to Ozma-bash todday, I'm here to sing its praises to all the littel flowerchildrun of the WORLLLLDDDD...
1. Vile This song used to be called "Vile Vermillion Vacancy" back in the mid-'80s and this version of the song has, like the title, been shortened a bit. The song starts off with a weird humming noise speeding up, and then a deep, heavy guitar riff plays... now you fucking KNOW it's THE MELVINS, MANG!! YA KNOW IT... Buzz's voice has transformed from a youthful growl to a wail of mayhem starting with this album. The riff just chugs along... one chord is all it takes. All it takes in the verse section, as the drums climb up the Stairway to Heallven and the like. The original version of the song (V.V.V.) had a bunch of extra sections but that is absent here...
2. Oven This song's a little quicker... feels kinda like thrash metal. After the first part, the song changes into a section with only a drum beat and Buzz yelling more nonsense! Thun the loud guitar pummeling ambushes again.
3. At A Crawl The Melvins had written this song pretty early on, and it even appeared on their first E.P. and on an obscure K Records comp before that. This time it's gone total fucking heavy ground-shattering boulder mode, like a bull charging at .10 miles per hour but with all the same intensity n' density! "FUCK... I'M CRAWLIINNN''.... ON MAH BELLY CRAWLIN'.... SUCKIN' LIVINNNN'... DIVINE MESSSSS!!!!" -- the next-to-holy moans and shouts of agony from Buzzed Osborne, the afro-headed guitarist/vocalist/founder of the FUCKING MELVIN BAND, KIDZ! This song really does feel like yer crawlin', just gasping for water/air/whatever, just in pure torment, yer fucked up under the weight of all that doth oppress... there's backing vocals on this recording of the song which I think is a nice touch but I can't tell if it's Dale or Buzz himself doing them. This version doesn't have the long drawn-out ending part.
4. Let God Be Your Gardener An especially creepy cut... it starts off with a slow lead-driven intro with a spooky type of sound to it... it transitions into another part, and then abruptly into the main part of the song, which when it is done is totally unexpected yet it flows... really creepy feel to that. From then onwards is pretty hard-rocking, just a nice punk rawk riff and cool weird lyrics and singing...
5. Creepy Smell Starts off with a drum intro as Buzz whispers things off in the distance. Then the magick starts up and the song gets real fucking hot... love that guitar riff. It's really aggressive and powerful. Then there's a slow part towards the end with the unforgettable line: "CREEPY CROVER". HEY DALE... BUZZ THINKS YER CREEPY!!!!
6. Kool Legged This one is extremely slow... very similar to the types of songs the band would start cranking out in the early '90s but not quite the same thing since this song is less than three minutes long... I can't help but think he's talking about a vaggina when he sings "THE RIVER WHERE YOUR LEGS MEET"... what do you think? THERE'S A PICTURE OF JESUS AS AN INDIAN. Love that line. In the middle there's an odd part with Buzz moaning with weird jangly wiggly guitar noises. Love it!
7. Green Honey Starts out with a really cool drumbeat and then it gets to a more upbeat mode kinda like the beginning of "Oven". I think the lyrics are supposed to be about getting venereal disease or something. V.D. sucks.
8. Agonizer Starts with a cool drum intro like many songs here do. Unfortunately this song doesn't do a ton for me. It's just kinda there, and it's decent but nothing that unique about it. End of Side A.
9. Raise a Paw This one's pretty cool. It has a cool boingy guitar sound and a funky lil' bass line and a hard drivin' drum beat. PAW GRANT ME IT'S WISDOM! The "waste nothing ever you never" part at the end with the zig-zag guitar part just lingering at the end sounds awesome too.
10. Love Thing This is a cover of an instrumental by the band KISS. It's short but it's decent. The bass guitar reminds me of funk metal like the Red Hot Chili Peppers or Faith No More or something. It fades out...
11. Ever Since My Accident It's funny because the original version of this song was extremely fast and frantic... well, the franticness is still here but in a different form. I mean, it's practically a completely different song, but maybe I'm missing something here... it fades in like a large snake crawling in, ready to constrict its prey and consume. Slow. I STAND ALONE LIKE A TREE! ALONE I STAND! Nice scary guitar riff here.
12. Revulsion/We Reach Two songs in juan. The first song is "Revulsion". It's a pretty good song. Slow, heavy, weird intro, y'know the drill. Or do you? Halfway through, the song "We Reach" begins, which is even slower and cooler. The guitar riff sounds like a chisel ripping off chunks of wood from something very large and hard and made of wood (a penis, maybe?). I love slow music. This one is laden with ghostly humming of feedback and very somber-feeling... pretty bassy, also. Strong bass presence. Buzz roars at times... whispers so soft at others.
13. Dead Dressed This one kicks a lot of ass. Nice guitar riff and sweet singing and drumming. It's pretty close to bein' the full package.
14. Cranky Messiah I get the image of Jesus being really grumpy and hung over and whiny with this one.
15. Claude Twisty n' turning. Claude Monet, maybee??
16. My Small Percent Shows Most Shortest song on the album. It starts with a cool guitar melody, starts off sounding pretty normal and gets more weird and discordant from there onwards. Hell yeah!
17. Candy-O An actual pop song on this record! It's a cover of a song by the Cars. It's better than the original and it rocks hard and should get any party going, fuckers! The "CANDY-O... I NEED YOU SO" part kills! Makes me wanna eat M & M's at night on a full moon. Sadly this song is only available on the CD version.
So yeah, there's OZMA, baby!! It's a pretty sweet album... after this album the band changed things up and started making their music insanely slow and droney. If you like non-generic, aggressive music that's true to the punk attitude but can appreciate all that is good about heavy metal, then this record is for you. Do listen, it may change your life. THE MELVINS RULE, OK??!!
Top 3 Favorites: 1. At a Crawl 2. Creepy Smell 3. Candy-O
Year: 1980 Genre: Punk Rock Label: Subterranean Records Tracks: 2 Length: 6 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
Flipper formed in the late '70s and were one of the weirdest, punk-est bands in the hardcore scene! This was before the Butthole Surfers, before Sonic Youth, before Die Kreuzen, before the Melvins, before all those fuckers, this was FLIPPER, A BAND NAMED AFTER A FUCKING FISH. While Black Flag and Minor Threat were at their peak and playing fast and tight became the popular thing to do, Flipper played slow, sloppy, and noisy. This was the first Flipper record ever, and already they've quite set into their sound. Imagine the Sex Pistols on LSD. That's Flipper for ya. Flipper sang about all kinds of things... this record has two songs on it, and a picture of a baby on the cover. Flipper was all about dead fish. Today there was a huge storm and there were a bunch of inch-thick balls of hail blasting down on the earth's surface if you live in Ohio. They weren't that hard but they fell that way! Anyways, time to talk about Flipper some more.
1. Love Canal I'm assuming a love canal is a pussy. I mean, like, it's a canal, and you can "love" it if you know what I'm sayin'... or you can actually love it. It's a pretty nice-looking little thingamajig that 50% of the world's population is equipped with. This song is slow, trudgey, mudgey, depressing, and it's about dying and all that other wonderful stuff. The music DOESN'T sound perfect musically, which is FUCKING AWESOME. The guitar riff sounds like a massive rock & roll dragon writhing through the arms of a merciless guitar player, breathing fire and ANNIHILATING, 'CUZ I'M ANNIHILATION MAN AND IT'S ANNIHILATION HOUR OF ANNIHILATION TIME 'CUZ IT'S MY WAR AND YER ONE OF THEM AND I'M AN NIHILIST TOO. Cool weird effects on Brucey Loosey's voice! Isn't that awesome. For the most part, the bass n' drums (not to be confused with drum n' bass) are the most stable part of the song. The guitar is insane and the vocals are just mad!
2. Ha Ha Ha Isn't life a blast... it's just like living in the past... we go downtown to do our shopping... and we live in suburbia... from the very beginning this song rules. It's one of the most well-known Flipper 'tunes... the bass riff is classic, the drum beat sounds awesome, the guitar riff is whacked-out, and I guarantee that you'll have these song lyrics memorized FOREVER... this song basically pokes fun at the suburban middle-class average lifestyle, going "ha ha ha" at its predictability, sterility, and occasionally ridiculousness. Tehehe. I'm still one of those fuckheads. HA HA HA HA HO HO HO HO EH HE HE HE HE HE AH HAHAHAHAHAHA... after that part of the song, Bruce laughs "hahahahaha", and it keeps on repeating and getting even faster. Then it's the end of the song. How's it feel to be laughed at by FLIPPER, KIDZ?
Well, that's the end of Flipper. This record, I mean. Flipper's still around and they released some new albums two years ago, but in my opinion '80s Flipper is the best. They throw punches in all the right god damn places... too punk for your average uptight dumbasses and too punk for your average uptight dumbass "punks"... they'll know punk when they hear Flipper, or anything remotely similar to Flipper. Flipper were drunk, drugged-up, knew when to laugh at themselves, and it costed the lives of a few of them. I don't really know where I'm going with this. Enough with my bullshit. Listen to these songs if you haven't already.
Year: 2008 Genre: Hardcore Punk Label: Unknown Tracks: 17 Length: 32 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
Suicidal Tendencies formed in Venice, California in 1981. Their first album is one of the most famous hardcore records ever... before that, they were recording demos and being notable for connections with gang activity and violence at their shows. The original line-up of the band was Mike Muir, Mike Ball, Carlos Egert, and Mike Dunnigan. This line-up of the band recorded demos in 1982 to cassette tape... now about three years ago, these demos got released in bootleg form FOR ALL THE WORLD TO HEAR -- AHAHAHAHA, S.T., YOUR SECRETS ARE OUT NOW!!! BUAHAHAHA. Anyways, yeah, we (me) here at Legit Music Reviews do not endorse suicide and GO KILL YOURSELF whoops, I mean, "DON'T KILL YOURSELF"... PLEASE. JUST LOOK AT HOW MUCH IS GOING RIGHT FOR YOU RIGHT NOW... what's that? Nothing? Oh well, whatever, nevermind...
1. Suicide's an Alternative The grainy quality of the recording adds an extra CRUNCH to the sound of this song... kick-ass riff, AWESOME guitar solo, it's about being sick of the world and wanting to die because everything sucks so bad.
2. I Shot Reagan Slow intro, fast verse n' chorus... ever have one of those days when you just wanna shoot Ronald Reagan, Sadat, the Pope, and John Lennon? WELL NOW'S YOUR CHANCE, JUST LISTEN TO THIS SONG AND ALL OF THOSE PEOPLE WILL BE DEAD!!!!!! DEAD, I TELL YA!! This version's only about half as long as the album version.
3. Suicidal Failure A slow, depressing song. Excellent guitar playing, as can be heard. The song's about wanting to be dead and being sick of life, but too scared/lazy to kill yourself... actually, if you listen to the lyrics, Mike really DID try killin' himself all these times, but somehow he didn't die. HE IS IMMORTAL. Damn, this sore on my tongue really hurts. The ending part is essentially the same verses and choruses, but sped up to a more intense pace.
4. Memories of Tomorrow This song exemplifies the future-anxieties of all of us, and in this case kids back in the '80s who thought that Ronald Reagan was gonna kill everybody in the Cold War. Mike sees visions of what could happen in this situation and probably still could happen and decides he'd rather kill himself before the visions become reality.
5. I Saw Your Mommy (Version #1) This is a kind of long song... the guitar riff rules... the drumming is great too. It's about seeing a kid's mom's dead body washed-up and rotting on the street and thinking it's kind of funny. "I took a picture 'cause I thought it looked neat"... the song describes the condition of the dead mommy in great detail. The chorus sections are really fast. Great guitar solo towards the end... man, this band has really good guitar-playing. Hardcore should have more solos.
6. Fascist Pig This song's about the police state. Y'know, riot cops, tear gas, unkillable drones of the machines beating protestors to their deaths. I like the part about brains being "the fascists' favorite meal". Makes sense. Te-he!
7. Possessed The first section of this song has a more metal-type guitar riff... then the chorus riff kind of ascends out of that. The lyrics are about being possessed by a demon and being caused pain n' stuff. Once again, kick-ass guitar playing. HAVE I ALREADY LOST MY MIND? DO I STILL HAVE A SOUL?
8. I Saw Your Mommy (Mystic Records Version) This is the version of the song that was on the Mystic Records Sampler #1. The quality is great, and it sounds really good. Actually a studio recording.
9. You Are Forgiven (Version #1) An early song that didn't make it on the album. Starts off with a creepy/really good/depressing guitar solo. I think it's a nice intro for a song like this. The song is fast, the "YOU ARE FORGIVEN" chorus is really memorable and effective. The song is critical of the mentality of organized religion. The part at the end has a sad-sounding riff and it's slow.
10. War Inside Myself This is actually "Parents for Adoption", not what the title says. It has a real cool guitar riff and it's about Mike being pissed off at how much his lazy hypocritical parents suck, and begs the listener to "adopt" them so that he can be free. You can barely hear the vocals, they're kinda muffled. End of Side A.
11. Stupid Genocide This song is extremely similar-sounding to "Suicide's an Alternative"... the lyrics are different, though. The quality of this recording is ultra-grainy. Good song, still.
12. Kill (Version #1) This one also has pretty poor quality. I really like this song... there's a slower version on this one documentary film that sounds even cooler, however... the song's about how obsessed society is with murdering.
13. Pseudo Mom I can't even hear the lyrics for this one, they're totally muffled. The song is fast, pissed. He was probably pissed off at his mom or something.
14. Two-Sided Politics This is actually not "Two-Sided Politics", it's a completely different song. However, it does sound pretty damn awesome, whatever it's really called. The guitar riff rocks, there's a sweet solo, the rhythms and beats just rock!
15. You Are Forgiven (Version #2) This isn't actually You Are Forgiven, once again they got the song title wrong! It's fast. The chorus guitar riff is pretty cool. Frantic drumming! You can't even hear Mike's voice.
16. Burn the Constitution THIS is "You Are Forgiven". THIS IS IT, GOD DAMN IT!! The guitar intro is really beautiful... it's like depression and self-loathing embodied in a guitar melody. It's really good. After this, the song explodes into the thrashing verse and chorus parts. The chorus is reassuring and sarcastic all at once. BUT YOU'RE FORGIVEN. I like this version better. Mainly because I like the intro for this one better.
17. Kill (Version #2) This version sounds creepy as fuck. You can't hear any vocals. The guitar riff is bordering on scary, especially with how the quality sounds and stuff. The beat is kinda fast. As the final track, it's like that final moment looming right after a hypothetical suicide with the dead body bleeding out as it's already dead.
So, there's early Suicidal Tendencies for ya! I think this LP is interesting for the unreleased tracks -- the songs that didn't get put on their album, even though I find it annoying that most of the time the titles are wrong. But yeah, these are all real cool songs, and it rocks! The second half could practically be considered an instrumental side since you can't even hear Mike's voice. Maybe he was just off having sex with every species of animal in the Universe while they were recording those songs. Anyways, that's all I've got to say for now. Lemme know if I missed anything.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Two-Sided Politics 2. Burn the Constitution 3. Suicide's an Alternative
EVEN OLDER VERSIONS OF "KILL" AND "PARENTS FOR ADOPTION"
Year: 1985 Genre: Post-Punk/Free Jazz Label: SST Records Tracks: 4 Length: 26 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
Sorry it's been awhile since I've written a review, I guess. Feels that way, anywaez. Anyways, yeah, I had kind of some depression shit going on and a lot of school work too and I think I should go take a shit, so I'll go and do that and then get [it] on with the GODDAMNED REVIEW ALREADY!!!
Okay, I typed that previous part about three days ago and I still haven't finished the fucking review... I'm just gonna start blaming it on the Zoloft. Anyways, I'm on break right now (sort of) so I've got no more exkuses. And I feel just fine right now, thank you very much...
Anyways, ABOUT THE ALBUM... this is "The Process of Weeding Out" by Black Flag, a four-song instrumental EP in which the band further explores their new punk-jazz-metal-stoner motif which could be said "weeded out" a lot of people who only liked them for their hardcore sound, and there's no singing... Henry Rollins isn't on this album at all, so he was probably off masturbating or doing spoken word while the rest of the band jammed their pennises and vaggina off! This is one of the last records the band ever released while they were still together -- just a month before their final LP, "In My Head" came out... that was a cool album. But we're talking about TPOWO today, so let's get the wax a-spinnin'...
1. Your Last Affront A real long song... starts off with just the crazy bass guitar riff... the drumming is wild and all over the place, though you get the idea that they know what's going on more than you ever will... eventually some weird lead guitar melodies can be heard, with the occasional blast of an A-chord... the guitar gets more and more intense as it starts sounding more like a speeding vehicle buzzing off into a desert. It gets around to feeling like some sort of a soundscape... real amazing. The lead guitar bubbles up to the surface of the glass panel which separates you from this wildness... be it the album sheet or the screen of the computer. In another part of the song, the beat starts getting really fast and choppy. Like a gun firing bullets! Amazing... after the chaos climaxes, the song SERIOUSLY slows down, into a trudge through a lonely, slow, cavernous atmosphere... is this my last affront? WELL GEE WILLIE WONKERZ GODDAMN IF I KNOW!!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. The thumping beat kind of reminds me of those first few moments of "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath, or even "Three Nights" by this same band. After a few minutes, the music gets ultra-fast again and gradually returns to the original bass riff, kind of like how the song started before the slow part. What a song...
2. Screw the Law This is a fast one with a hardcore beat... however, the guitar sounds hardly anything like that style of music... more heavy metal, but still nothing like metal... a lot of lead guitar wankage and a pretty cool bass riff. At the very end, the drumming gets REALLY crazy, and then the song's over. End of Side A.
3. The Process of Weeding Out A ten-minute song... pretty much the punk equivalent of free jazz... ridiculous ultra-fast drumming, improvised lead guitar playing, funky bass-playing... eventually, the drumming turns into a more normal beat, but it doesn't last for too long. Very improvised, un-traditional sounding music... I would barely even call this rock music.
4. Southern Rise This one's got a slow, blues-type beat and a pretty damn cool bass riff. Nice, relaxed guitar sounds... the beat eventually gets faster and more punkish... towards the later half of the song, the guitar solos get more intense but also quieter... either that or it's just my imagination. Sometimes you'll hear drumrolls that sound like machine guns firing off. Pretty cool. The song fades out...
Kind of like the second half of "Family Man". My favorite songs on this record are "Your Last Affront" and "Southern Rise". Actually, the second song is pretty good too, I just wasn't extremely into the song that the EP is named after. But it's a pretty neat listen. Don't expect a Minor Threat song here! Weird, jazzy, discordant, but somehow it all works. Anyways, sorry for taking so long to make this review, I just felt shitty and lazy lately. Bye bye.
Year: 1983 Genre: Hardcore Punk Label: Boner Records Tracks: 8 Length: 16 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
Landshark was the first album by the Berkley, California band known as FANG. Actually, it's kind of funny 'cuz there's this other band from Germany or something that existed around the same time also called "Fang" and they had this really catchy song called "I Don't Go" and I liked it a lot, but it doesn't sound anything like the other Fang, so it really confangused me for-a-while until I found out they were different bands. And shit. Anyways, yeah, this album is a lot different sounding from the first Fang 7" -- faster songs, harder songs, wilder lyrics. It tells tales about homelessness, skinheads, death, fast cars, etc. Y'know, a day in the life for a California street punk. Anyways, even then, this is more interesting than your typical hardcore album because Fang fought the trend by having a bunch of real slow songs. Anyways, time for the TRU REV-U...
1. The Money Will Roll Right In This is a song is about a guy who goes to Hollywood in hopes of becoming rich and famous. It's kinda slow, and we all like it that way. This song is the most famous Fang song because Nirvana played a cover of it during one of their most notable shows. The riff rocks. The singer (Slammy) sings about how he would have shared some of his fame n' fortune with his friends if they really gave a shit about him, and now they "must feel pretty stu-pid". Real fuzzed-out guitar sound.
2. Land Shark I really fucking love this song! It's real fast, it's got awesome guitar riffs, good lyrics, it's a real fun song! It's about driving a fast, indestructible car that runs on a set of its own rules. I really fucking love the way this song sounds... just pure energy n' action in musical form!
3. Law & Order This song is slow. The guitar riff in the verse is pretty tough, while the chorus riff is more dischordant and dreary. There's little moments of brief chaotic noise-spurts punctuating the chord progressions. It's about how the institutions and laws of the world have created a sterile, boring, cruel existence for all people to live in... "MY MOTHER WAS A JUNKIE, MY FATHER WAS A FAGGOT"... Slammietown rants about how he's been sent to various institutions to fix his problems but they couldn't do shit to help him.
4. Diary of a Mad Werrwöulf The riffs seethe and spit with anger. Real thick and hard... and I ain't talking about no pennis! The lyrics are not far from something that the Misfits would write -- it's about a werewolf who goes out at night on full moons and seizes his feasts of flesh from unwitting victims, regardless of the petty useless rules of society. The song fades out at the end... of Side A.
5. Destroy the Handicapped Once again, great riff-age!! A little more upbeat than the two other songs we've just heard... still totally skull-splitting, however. The lyrics to this one are narcissistic to the core, it's all about how handicapped people are inconvenient to the singer's life and how they have poor hygiene and make the government pay for them to live and whatnot. Y'know, stuff that makes hippies and liberals cry by the thousands.
6. Drunk & Crazy Another real fast one. Who doesn't love gettin' drunk n' crazy ever now and then? The singing really rolls with the pummeling beat (of the drums, not of the peoples' faces) and the swerving guitar riff that makes you just WANNA GO WILD!!!!
7. An Invitation I think this song's about either a guy raping a girl in an alley or a guy wanting to have a romantic suicide with a woman. Not sure. Goddamn it, I never get no fucking invitations. Unless you're people I've known since I was five years old, of course. Not meant offensively or anything. Slammy just sounds kinda tortured, here. I know that sounds real pretentious but the way he groans and shit suggests it.
8. Skinheads Smoke Dope Starts off with a real FACEPUNCH type of beat and then it gets faster and the guitar riff here JUST KILLS, MAN! It's a pro-skinhead anthem about why skinheads are so great and how they smoke dope (and that ain't no fucking joke) and all of that other stuff. An ultra-kool song in my opinion. Seriously, you've gotta hear this one, man! Ends with a nice scream.
Well, that's LANDSHARK by FANG. Nice lil' record, now wasn't it? The band is kind of notable for reasons besides its actual music -- the thing with Nirvana that I mentioned earlier in the review, and plus, Slammy killed his own girlfriend (maybe she should've listened to his song "Invitation" before getting to close to him, eh?) -- the weird thing is that he only did about 6 years for it, even after running from the cops for a few days! But yeah, after that Fang re-formed and they're still around and shit. To be honest, this and the first 7" is all I've heard from them so far -- that's right, Fang are still pretty new to me. So come on, my fellow fuckfreak brethren, let us rejoice in the side-piercing sounds of FANG!!! YAEY.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Skinheads Smoke Dope 2. Land Shark 3. An Invitation
Year: 2010 Genre: Hardcore Punk Label: Stress Domain Records Tracks: 3 Length: 3 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
Ecoli is a KUH-RAZY hardcore band from Califjornia, U.S.A. They have released several EPs in the past, including ones that I've already reviewed such as "Rape" and "Judas Cradle". Well, now thare back with a NEW RECORD, and this one only has three songs on it, so it's not as long as the two EPs before it. Ecoli's sound is far from generic... it's really noisy and weird and technical in a very non-metal way... anyways, let's listen to this PUNX ROXX KLASSIX, NOWX SHALLX WEX?
1. Incestuous Insects SEE? See how immoral and unchristian this country has become? Even the INSECTS are practicing INSECT -- wait, I mean INSECT -- FUCK, I meant INCEST! Almost as fast as Deep Wound. The singer sounds a ton like Charlie Nakijama on this song. A layer of sonick sludge covers the noises, with echoes and all that stuff. Real fast and really weird-sounding riffs. The middle part is slow. I really like the guitar riff at the end. It's pretty cool.
2. He Feeds Me Carrion I'm guessing that "he" is an eagle, hawk, or vulture of some sort. Sort of slow-ish intro, and then it gets faster than how fast that God and Satan ejaculate combined! GFGFGFGFGFGFGFGFFFFFGGGGG. Wow, these kids must be on something. They write something that sounds so primal and aggressive, yet it's definitely not simple. End of Side A.
3. Wind Chimes Starts off with a bunch of weird, creepy noises probably made with tape manipulation. I like the chorus part. It has a cool riff. I can't understand any of the lyrics because the vocals are really muffled by the clattering and hissing and loudness of everything else in the mix. Not as fast as the two songs on Side A. In the second chorus, there's a real cool guitar solo. Awesome drumming, awesome riffs, awesome everything!! WINDCHIMES.
Well, this was a really good record. Short but awesome. No filler songs. This barely sounds like any other band I've heard. It's twisty, it's quirky, but it rocks too. Just as much no wave as it is hardcore. You'll hear really fast beats, unexpected tempo/time signature changes, great riffs, and other punk rock fuckery. So cum, listen to this EP, and maybe Ecoli will make another record one of these days. I feel this to be an improvement over their two older records. My only complaint is that the mixing severely lacks bass, which would give the songs a much more "full" sound and that would make this record sound even better. But besides that, it's real good!!
Year: 1981 Genre: Punk Rock Label: Unknown Tracks: 2 Length: 7 Minutes My Rating: 6/8
OH. HI. HI THERE. I'M SORRY ID IDN'T SEE YOU THERE... I AM RAERALLY SORRY, MY GOOD SIR. OH. HI. HI AGAIN. THIS IS ME. TYPING. HI. HI AGAIN. HI THERE. THIS IS MY REVIEW OF THE BAND FANG. THEY ARE A PONK RONK BONK THAT STOITED AUT IN ABOUT 1980 AND THEY HAD THEIR OWWWWN RECORD LABEL CALLED... WAIT FOR IT, WAIT FOR IT...
...ANYWAYS, THEY WERE NOT ON THE BONNER RECORDS LABEL WHEN THEY RELAEASED TGEHEIR FIRST 7-INCH FLATTENED CHODE. THEY WERE ON A RECORD LABEL KKKALLED "FLACID PENNIS WRECK(AS IN TO "WRECK" SOMEONE'S ANUS WITH YOUR CAULK) CORDS"... but not really. I DUNNO WHAT THIS LABEL WAS CALLED. ANYWAYS, THE BAND WERE SKIN-HEADS I THINK (OI OI OI) AND THEY COUNTER-ACTED THE POLITICALLY CORRECT LIBERAL ATTITUDE OF THE BERKLEY CALIFORNIA SCENE BY SINGING AT TIMES VERY POLITIKKKALLY INKKKORECT(ION) LYRIKKKX AND THEY PLAYED THEIR MUSIC MUCH SLAAAOUUUWER THAN MOST OF THE TOAST. ANYWAYS, ON WITH... THE REVIEW. BOYS AND GIRLS... boys and girls... hop inside of my anus and we shall venture on to find out what lays in store next, for the LAND OF MAGIC.
1. Yukon Fang I'm pretty sure that "Yukon" is also a kind of potato... like, the "Yukon Gold Potatoes". The song has a pretty cool bass riff and a slow beat. There's not really any rhythm guitar chords, just some plinking at a semi-muted note. Sam McBride (the singer) has a pretty good voice. He doesn't sound all Bri'ish-soundin' like he does on the band's first album, "Land Shark". 'CUZ HE'S REALLY A KALIFLORNIAN... POSER!!!! POSER!!!! SAMMYTOWN WAS A FUCKING POSER BECAUSE HE SANG WITH A BRITISH ACCENT AND HE'S NOT FROM BRITAIN! LYNCH!!!! No, not really. I don't give a shit what he sounds like as long as he sounds good. Actually, Flipper had this sort of deal about them, also... not sure what was up with that, either. It's a relatively calm song... the kind you can just smoke/drink to and wallow in self-pity or whatever bullshit you got UP YER SLEEVES TODAY!!!!!! Now, for the B-side...
2. Enjoy the View The beat is really cool in the beginning of this song. The guitar makes really cool sounds... in the chorus part the beat is twice as fast. Sam sings in a really throaty, loud-sounding voice as opposed to the calm voice he sings with in the other song. There's some kind of avant-garde lead guitar stuff going on off in yer left ear... and in the center of your hearing scope it just repeats one icy-sounding chord. Someone's responsible for all yer failures, gotta use yer hatred SOMEHOWW...
It's a pretty good record. If you feel lonely or isolated, it especially sounds good. Actually, I've been real depressed for the past few days and just tonight I feel like my old happy self again, and that is a good thing. Even music can't help you when you feel like that. Anyways, y'alls probably know about SLAMMYMCSAMMYMCSAMMYTOWNMCBRIDE killin' his girlfriend and only doing 6 years in prison for it... yeah, Fang are still around and playing shows after 30 years... sounds like a long time now, doesn't it? DOESN'T IT?? Well, having only heard their songs from LAND SHARK prior to this, this sounds a lot different. LAND SHARK sounds more hardcore, but this reminds me of Flipper, but less intense. The first song is devoid of really sounding that intense, it's more of an introspective tune... the other one is also, but it's got more of that rock n' roll energy to it. You can really bang your head to both of 'em. The first one just seems like a late night drinking sort of song. The album that comes after this one, LAND SHARK... they sound more "hard" there and they sing more about being a bad-ass and driving fast cars and stuff. Actually, it hardly sounds like the same band, but it iz. Anyways, that's all I have to say for now. Actually, I just realized that the bass riff for "Enjoy the View" sounds just like this:
Genre: Punk Rock Label: Mystic Records Tracks: 4 Length: 15 Minutes My Rating: 7/8
THE MENTORS... the world's one-and-only and most important RAPE ROCK band! That's right, these guys drink lots of booze, fuck sluts, hate glam-rock and new wave pussies, bash fags, and of course, RAPE!! Peaceable rape, of course... like, if the girl's knocked out on drugs and stuff. But yeah, this group is right up there with GG Allin as one of the most offensive rock groups of the '80s and '90s -- no, he didn't throw shit at people on stage and eat it and roll around in it (though one time El Duce did accidentally shit himself on-stage while completely hammered), but the guy was pretty FUCKED. Tehehehe. He did like to fuck lotsa girlies. The Mentors really are probably THE anti-wuss band. Absolutely NO pretensions, a very unglamorous macho hillbilly frontman, and the lyrics are about as politically incorrect as you can get... but they are hilarious. And a sense of humor is something that people who are offended by everything lack. Most music made by the Mentors falls under the metal category, but this first EP from the Mentors is closer to punk. And that's the scene the Mentors were apart of anyways, since they were far too crazy for the heshers and "glam rock fags" as the band called them. The band formed in 1977 in Seattle, Washington, and consisted of El Duce (drums/vocals), Sickie Wifebeater (guitar), and Steve Broy (bass guitar). So let's listen to this musical geniousity probably barfed out by El Duce, the band's charismatic vocalist/drummer one night after too much to drink...
1. Peepin' Tom Pretty good guitar riff. El Duce's vocals sound about as crazed-drunken-redneck as you can get and it totally fits the sound and attitude of the music. I love it! The chorus has a real catchy riff and the line there goes "I'M A-PEEPIN... I'M A-PEEPIN' TOM!". Also just listen to that lead guitar. It sounds fucking awesome... "I'M A PEEPIN'... I'M-A-PEEPIN' ON YER MOM!". The song's about spying on nude women through their windows and getting off while doing it.
2. Get Up and Die Favorite song on the record. In this song, Mr. Duce commands the death of all new wavers. "I wanna see NEW WAVE DEATH!". There's some chorus vocals from El Duce which from a technical point sound absolutely terrible, but they still sound good and fit the grimy sleazy booze/drugs/cigarettes atmosphere. The lead guitar is awesome. The guitar riff is really really good to listen to. So listen to it, man! Very good song... End of Side A.
3. Woman From Sodom The song starts out kinda slow like the last two songs but it gets a little faster after the intro. This song is about wanting a woman willing to have anal sex with you... and according to this song the best place to find one of them is... SODOM! Because all of the girls "let you in their bottom" over there. The chorus iz cool-sounding. "She begged me, MASTER DON'T BE MEAN! I said SHUT UP, I'VE GOT THE VASELINE!" -- AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA!!! At the part at the end where they repeat the intro part and El Duce's groaning through the vocal melody, he really starts to sound like he's constipated and taking a huge shit! This song's the longest one on the record. Five minutes long.
4. Going Through Your Purse This song is the "story of how the Mentors got all their glory". This song's about the band luring women into having sex with them so they could steal money out of their purses while they were distracted. "There was this chick, she was with this chump/that's the kind of girl I'd like to take home and hump"... goddamn, these lyrics are comedy gold. The guitar solo in the middle is kinda simple but I like it. They like to eat a lot of food... so do I!!! The Mentors continue to explain why they need more money to have fun and do a lot of stuff as the song fades out...
Now the record is over. I guess it was re-released a few times under different names such as "Trash Bag" and "Value Pack" and then it was re-released with a copy of another 7" EP. The band's lyrics are very offensive to most, but also extremely funny. It is unknown whether or not El Duce was completely serious about his supposed rapist lifestyle, but I'm just gonna trust the songs and say he was. HA. And of course everyone knows about his whole supposed involvement in Kurt Cobain's suicide... but alas, we will never know the complete truth because he's dead now. The man was hit by a train while drunk one night in 1997... but at least he left behind something to be remembered by. But anyways, enjoy this album when you get a chance to hear it. It's actually pretty good. Good, clean, sexist, homophobic, drug-abusing family fun! Also click on the videos down below for some fucking hilarious El Duce/Mentors television appearances...
Genre: Hardcore Punk Label: No Way Records Tracks: 9 Length: 7 Minutes Style:Angry/Political My Rating: 5/8
Warkrime was a Jewish hardcore group from San Francisco, California. The band existed from 2004 to 2009 and were notorious for their offensive, pro-right-wing lyrics which did piss off much of the liberal Bay Area punk scene. The band has its origins in a band called "Brewtality" but the band split up just before their first show would have happened, so the future members of Warkrime relocated and started a new band. The band's line-up was... Brace (vocals), Max Apex (bass guitar), Adolf Edge (drums), and Duke Lacrosse (guitar). This was the first record the band put out and it was released on... wait for it, wait for it... dum-dum! No Way Records!
1. No More Starts out with an awesome riff that kinda squeaks up a little bit and it sounds real cool. The tempo gets faster and Brace's vocals are very angry and intense. Brace expresses his anger towards homeless drunks and how he doesn't want to live anymore because his life just sucks, man. Love how he sings. One of the best songs on the record.
2. Glass Parking One part in the song, Brace sings: "THE SWASTIKA, THE CROSS, ALLAH, THE BOSS... SIEG HEIL, YASSIR ARAFAT!". One slow part in the middle has a simple guitar solo. Even faster than the first song. The riff is also good to listen to. Best song on the album.
3. Longhairs A really short, street-punk type song making fun of hippies.
4. Give War a Chance A rare pro-war punk song! Instead of "give peace a chance", the band sings "give war a chance"! The part in the end of slow, and in this section Brace proclaims that necessity of war to get rid of us human cockroaches (hahah, "cock"). End of Side A.
5. Brat Camp Goddamn, the singing here is so fast that I don't even know what the fuck they're singing about at all. Maybe it's about war and stuff again.
6. Fuck It Brace sounds like Keith Morris in this song. In the verses, the riff is lead guitar-based. I like the bridge section. It has a cool riff. Fuck it, maaan...
7. Warkrime YAY! THE WARKRIME THEME SONG! In this song the band expresses their love of money and chicks. They explain how people try to tell them how "sexist, racist, and homophobic" people think they are.
8. Suburban Suicide Starts out with a mellow guitar tune. Then it segues into, whaddaya know, a very fast song. Very frustrated-sounding. Once again the lyrics are sung really really fast and stuff so I can't understand the lyrics.
9. Speed HOLY SHIT, and I was calling all of these other songs fast! This is the fastest song on the whole EP! The one line I can audibly make out is the group-shouted line, "SPEED KILLS WHO CARES?". Then the first part of the song is repeated again and then it's over.
So, that's the Warkrime EP. The band's music is pretty typical hardcore music but the singer has a good voice and you hear some pretty interesting stuff at times. They really do like to play fast... most of the songs on here are under a minute long. The band's politics seem to be pro-Israel, pro-war, and anti-Arab... I don't agree with war but at least this band's not just conforming to what every other hardcore band seems to do. That's a plus. One complaint of mine though is that the guitars are not mixed loud enough in the mix. It's a pet peeve of mine, guitar comes first as far as what's audible in a rock and roll record. If I could understand most of the lyrics I'd probably have more to say, but the band is more focused on the raw energy of their music. So, that's my review for the day. Listen to Warkrime if you wanna hear a new band.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. Glass Parking 2. No More 3. Speed
Genre: Hardcore Punk Label: Wantage USA Tracks: 3 Length: 7 Minutes Style:Angry/Weird My Rating: 5/8
Oh, hey there, you swarthy fuxx! I just got back from being IN THE FUCKING HOSPITAL. That really sucked, man. Anyways, time to get back on track with my reviews... White Shit is a sort of recent discovery of mine, and it's another musical contribution from Jared Warren and Coady Willis, who are also in Big Business and even the Melvins! Anyways, this is their second or third release... it's 10 inches... and, uh... well, just look at that cover art! If this band were more well-known, they'd be in deep shit... WHITE deep SHIT... either from a gang of enraged Muslim extremist or a mainstream media outlet afraid of gangs of enraged Muslim extremists! Anyways, time to listen to the record.
1. Surface Zen Jared sounds a little bit like D Boon (probably the second singer in a band I've compared to him). Or maybe I actually forget what D Boon sounds like since I have not listened to the Minutemen in awhile. Anyways, the song is fast, and the riffs are two-chord progressions punctuated by a blitz of lead guitar notes. Halfway through the song, it slows down to about half as fast, and then even slower. Then there's a guitar solo and a cool drum beat. The song ends real abruptly after this part.
2. Shitted Out Shitted out... just like MUHAMMAD himself. No, really, one day Jared and Coady were out at a Mexican restaurant and they ate a lot of spicy food and drank some magical soda that nobody even remembers what it was called, but they got really stuffed full of Mexican food and then they both had to take a shit, so when they started shitting they ended up shitting out this song! Really grimy and dischordant-sounding chords pound in the beginning part of the song with a lead-guitar melody. This song's not as fast as the first song, some parts are real slow and heavy-metal style, and some parts are more just regular tempo. The lyrics are an enactment of a woman bringing her son into the doctor's office, and the doctor tells her that her son is actually a prehistoric ape-man, and "in his personal and professional opinion", that she is probably also one, likewise -- 'cuz BANANAS DON'T FALL FAR FROM THE TREE, AHAHOHAHOHAHAHAHA. End of Side A.
3. Fire (Gism) The drums sound cool here for some reason. Fast beat. Lots of hissing and quacking noises around the background. Jared's voice sounds FUCKING AWESOME here... he sounds like a screaming, groaning MONSTER, man! It's great. DOOO-NEOOOWWWW-DEEEEE-NEEOOOWWWW... excellent singing, great drumming, weird dischordant lead guitar, and a nice simple riff. Maybe the hissing sounds are a firecracker being thrown off and into the audience, actually. Hell if I know!
So, that is WHITE... SHI'ITE... please give this record to all of your Muslamic friends, NOW. The music is pretty hardcore-sounding, but with a more experimental spin and apparently a good sense of humor as well. This is actually the only White Shit release I've ever heard and I checked it out because the cover art looked cool. And it's pretty good. So that's all I have to say. And "Fire (Gism)" is the best song, by the way.
Genre: Thrash Metal/Experimental Rock Label: Ladd-Frith Productions Tracks: 8 Length: 35 Minutes Style:Angry/Weird My Rating: 6/8
Mr. Bungle was the first (well-known, at least) band that Mike Patton (also in Faith No More & Fantomas) was in. The band started back in 1985, as part of a high school talent show where they mainly just dicked around (it's even on videotape!), but quickly they assumed more of a super-angry crossover-thrash style, and they would eventually become more of a goofy funk-metal group not too different from Faith No More itself, but in 1986 they released their first cassette-only album (with the green label), and let's hear it NOWWW...
1. Grizzly Adams Warm and sad-sounding acoustic guitar instrumental tune, with a little lead off to the side (right), it's very calm-sounding, so let's jusst sit back and relax for a little while and bathe in the melancholy of it all... this is really really beautiful-sounding. Just when you least expect it, now, the song becomes extremely loud and metallic and more dangerous-sounding, but that doesn't last for very long...
2. Anarchy Up Your Anus Starts off with a really loud angry-sounding riff with Mike reciting lines from the book "Snow White" in a calm voice. The song pauses and then speeds up. Wow, now I know why the Accused almost chose Mike Patton as their new vocalist! He really does sound just like Blaine Cook on this album! AN-AR-CHY upyouranus! The riffs are lightning-quick and sound just as much like a blender as musical instruments!
3. Spreading the Thighs of Death Ooh, sounds sexy! This song starts off with a scream and the tempo is fast but not that fast. The song pauses and the other guitar which sounds really quiet can be heard playing, and then the song is really fucking fast, with Mike Patton's brutal vocals lighting the way in an otherwise directionless ever-changing muck of pure-y fury! Then there's one part with a bunch of squealing noises from the guitars and the band moaning and groaning in CONFUSION (is sex). GUITAR SOLO!! There's one relatively melodic part of the song around 3 1/2 minutes, but there's very little repetition in this song so it doesn't last long. Is it wrong that the name of this song somewhat gives me a boner?
4. Hypocrites This one sounds a bit more like plain old hardcore. Slow beginning, and then it gets real fast, and then I'm hearing a part of "La Cucaracha". Then there's a fucking ska section of the song, can you believe it? "We're hypocrites, but we're not hypocrites". Soon enough, the ska section ends for a repeat of the first two parts of the song. Totally awesome!! Then there's a really really cool Sabbath-esque guitar solo after that. It's really cool-soundin', man!
5. Bungle Grind This song's absolutely awesome. All the riffs here fucking rule. It alternates between so many different parts it's not funny, and Mike's voice sounds like a cross between Roger Miret and Blaine Cook in this song. The verse riff meanwhile sounds so desperate yet energetic. It sounds so awesome when he belts out that line "Life... is a fucking... JAILLLL!!!!!". Then he tells us to 'do the Bungle Grind'. HOW to do it is not explained, however. The guitar just chugs along like a giant fucking steamroller. The drums are audible but very blurry so I can't comment much on how awesome those sound. End of Side A.
6. Raping Your Mind LOUD, FAST, HEAVY, PISSED-OFF. Like a monster. Mash. Like a monster mash, kidz. They shred really fast!! It's like a jillion angry bumble-bees buzzing and stinging people all at once. Imagine that racket! Dissonant Melvins-like chord progressions punctuate the verse riffs. Then there's some crazy overblown solo-age going on.
7. Evil Satan This one's a little more experimental and punk-sounding. There's a neat watery guitar sound and a bongo beat, but then the tempo changes and you hear Mike Patton rapping the lyrics here; the first instance of the vocal style he'd be more recognized for later. There's horns in here (being played by Mister Trey Spruance who wrote half of the songs for this record) also. Every now and then he sings in that angry brutal tone. Name an instrument, it was probably used in this song. Harmonicas, trumpets, kazoos, bongo drums, cymbals, etc.
8. Sudden Death Blues-y tempo and a vicious tearing guitar riff. After a minute and a half, the song becomes very fast like you might expect! REALLY FUCKING FAST at some points. The great riffs just keep going. I like some of the clattering drum sounds, also. You hear Trevor doing some backing vocals with Mike at one part. At another point, you hear video game music (probably Nintendo) sychronized with the thrashing madness of the band's own music! I DUNNO I DUNNO. Hearing the vocal duties go back and forth between Mike and the rest of the band sounds very good. And it's totally the longest song on the tape, 'cuz it's just over 7 whole minutes long. And that's the end.
Well, that was fucking wild. Having heard "The Real Thing" by Faith No More where Mike Patton's voice sounds much cleaner, it's hard to believe he can pull off those sorts of screams and growls! And even though they were playing thrash metal here, the weird element is definitely already there, with the band willing to pull off any bonus trick in the hat to surprise you! It's really something else, it's super-angry and aggressive-sounding music but manages to keep a little weirdness and humor in there as well. The sound of the music is extremely lo-fi, probably recorded directly to cassette tape, but this album is not considered a demo, so the self-titled LP from 1991 is NOT the first Mr. Bungle album (much like people incorrectly label "God Ween Satan" as the first Ween album). They were only about my age (or close) when they recorded this, so this is really impressive. Things would get a little funkier for the band's music, they graduated high school, and Mike Patton's musical career has really taken off since this point. But even with that unconsidered, this album SERIOUSLY rocks, and if you like thrash metal bands with a punk edge like the Accused and Suicidal Tendencies, or even grindcore or death metal like Napalm Death, then DO check this out, man.
...DEAD Kennedys were a very political, creative punk rock band that existed from the late '70s to mid '80s (same timeframe as Black Flag), and the band was fronted by the charismatic, very intelligent man known az JELLO "BI AFRO" BIAFRA. They put out some singles in the 1970s with humorously political-centered tunes such as "California Uber Alles" and all that SHIT, and now here's their first full-length album, FRESH FRUIT for ROTTING VEGETABLES!!
1. Kill the Poor HEEEREZ a nice jolly little tune about killing poor parts of the world with neutron bombs to make more room for fancy hotels and golf courses! WHAT FUN. Even liberals are wimps, too! Everyone sing along with me -- KILLKILLKILLKILL THE POOR! KILLKILLKILLKILLKILL THE POOR TONI-I-I-I-IGHT! The beginning part is slow, but then it gets a bit faster.
2. Forward to Death Even faster, eh? This song's about somebody who's so bored of life in capitalist consumeristic society that he's "looking forward to death", because American society puts a lil' frown on hiz face, man. This song was written by 6025.
3. When Ya Get Drafted Awesome catchy guitar riffs and yet also a frantic, freakish side as well. This song's about Ronald (McDonald) Reagan revving the American people up for a new war with Russia and it's all for fucking BIG BUSINESS (not the band), MAN. The verse riff just sounds fun, and the chorus riff is more mean and mutated. The solo sounds like something out of a horror film.
4. Let's Lynch the Landlord A bit slower. It's funny how all of these songs sound so gawdamn party-tastik and yet the messages are so serious. It's an awesome-sounding song, though. And it's about killing yr landlord (rather than yr idols). Because he wants more money for everytime you drink water. Some landlords who are Dead Kennedys fans have indeed complained about them writing this song.
5. Drug Me This is a really fast song that's not really as much an anti-drug tune as much as comparing the mainstream media and the government and entertainment industry themselves to drugs, using endless fake pleasure to keep ze kiddies entertained THEIR WAY. Yeah, I have to admit that I am into drugs somewhat myself. Not a TON yet, but I do know that getting high/drunk is totally fun. So yeah, drugs are bad mm'kay, but they're also really fun. Awesome weirdo solo in the middle of the song. You can't tell me they weren't on drugs to come up with THAT one!
6. Your Emotions East Bay Ray wrote this lil' song. Awesome super-legit guitar riff. The beat iz fast, just makes me wanna dance! The song discusses how people are somewhat programmed how to feel by society and their surroundings, becoming like biological tape-recorders. YOUR EMOTIONS MAKE YOU A MONSTER!
7. Chemical Warfare AN AGGRESSIVE SONG ABOUT... CHEMICAL WARFARE. "Down at the arsenal they keep the nerve gases, guarded day and night by caged white rabbits" -- AHAHAHAHAHA. In the middle, there's a freakish slow section that sounds like a creepy carnival song, sung by the famous klown, RAMBOZO. Then there's a bunch of hilarious sounds at one part right before the end. End of Side A.
8. California Über Alles One of the most famous Dead Kennedys songs ever... original released as the band's first 7" single ever in 1979, but this is a different version of the song. This version's slightly faster, and it portrays then-governor-of-Kalifornjia as the hippie Hitler enforcing his extremely liberal views on the rest of the state. "Mellow out or YOU WILL PAY"... man.
9. I Kill Children EIGH KULL KHULDRUNZ is another fun fast song beigh the DAD KINIDIZ about a KEH-REZEH SERULL KULLOOWER HO LOIX TEH KULLZ VER MINEH CHILDREN. "I've been butt-fucked one too many ways". Ain't that a drag. I like the riff during the mid-section of the song.
10. Stealing People's Mail Stealing PeoplE'S Mail. Who the hell "People" is, I dunno, but if they were talking about PEOPLE as in the plural pronoun, then Jello would have titled it "Stealing Peoples' Mail", right, right? RIGHT?????????????? NOW NOBODIE KUNT FIND THER MAIL, GODDAMMIT!!!!!!
11. Funland at the Beach Funland, funland... at the beach... Funland at the beach... yeah, I've been there. It FUCKING RULES. The sand is pink, the sky is always blue, and the cloudz are made of cotton kandYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY. But really, funland @ ze beach is not always fun, 'cuz the lil' fat kids who like to the candy at this magical little world are getting killed and splattered to bloody little bits by the gigantic fucking rollercoaster and FUN-LAND. OH NO!! (cue Mr. Bill, here). Then there's a guitar solo hyah.
12. Ill in the Head The riff consists of some normal chords succeeded by very quirky weird lead note progressions. The song's about a person who grows a case of mental insanity as an unconscious of tactic of coping with mundane life in the schizophrenic western society.
13. Holiday in Cambodia The most famous Dead Kennedys song ever, so famous, so FUCKING PUNK ROCK that it was FUCKING PUNK ROCK FEATURED IN... a car commercial? What is this world cumming to? Gee, I dunno, but here's what I think about the song: it's catchy. It's about a liberal college student who thinks he knows everything about politics and thinks American life's so hard, but even a sucky moment in the U.S.A. is better than... A HOLIDAY IN CAMBODIA, LA-LA-LA-LA-LA! Here's actually what I said about the song in my review of "Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death" earlier this year: "The most famous Dead Kennedys song. Now being used in car commercials, video games, and the like, it is quite well-known in mainstream music fandom possibly for those reasons, and also because it's just a catchy, fun song. This iz the version from the single in 1980. This version mocks the mainstream "liberal elite" kids who think they've "seen it all from daddy's car", but back east "their type don't crawl" -- telling the kids who think American life is tough to cheer up because even the hardest times in America are still "a holiday in Cambodia". The vocal harmonies in the chorus are great."
14. Viva Las Vegas This is a cover of the song by Elvis Presley. Cool bass melody. It's pretty fast. It's a happy-go-lucky tune about going to Las Vegas to see all the girls and have a bunch of fun and shit. Interesting way to end an album, I say.
The album has a lot to say about a lot of perilous situations that plagued the world at the time and just even moreso now! People are crazier than ever, these days! The album has a really gritty, vaguely garage-rocky feel to it, like the band just recorded it to their garage to a few tapes and put it on some wax as-is. I could be totally wrong though, and totally am. It's kind of like the first Dev-O album, but harder. Most of the shit I've said about this album was said in the individual track-reviews, so yes, there's my fucking opinion. Definitely listen to it, if you have anything up that brain of yours you'll enjoy something about it for sure! The Kennedys would go on to perfect their creative genius with their next albums.
Top 3 Favorites: 1. When Ya Get Drafted 2. Your Emotions 3. Kill the Poor
VIOLENT HUNGER (EP)
