And on and on…
Despise You / Agoraphobic Nosebleed split album
Relapse Records
April, 26, 2011
FFO: Coke Bust, Capitalist Casualties
Dr. Dre had it right; “Inglewood always up to no good.” And if you thought hardcore rap was the only thing poppin’ in South Los Angeles, think again.
Fans of pissed off, fast, hardcore punk, and grind should stand up and rejoice over the forthcoming split album from Despise You/ Agoraphobic Nosebleed, entitled And On and On.., set to hit streets April 26, 2011 via Relapse Records. My initial gut reaction to the opening bars of Despise You‘s “Bereft,” was “fuck yes!” Finally an album that delivers on the hype. This 39-second opening little ditty blasts forward with some attitudinal riffing that is pure punk and grind goodness. Think Coke Bust-esque intensity with some West Coast hardcore roots. Everything works within this quickie opener – blast beats into snotty punk riffs, into rock riffs, before bringing the blast back in the blink of an eye. Yes, yes, yes. We have one of the first solid powerviolence offerings of 2011.
With 10 years since their last release, Despise You have only grown more poignant and ear-shredding to compliment those gray hair-sprouts in the beards. It’s not often that I think of grind and powerviolence musicians aging like fine wine, but here we have Despise You playing as fast and as pissed-off as ever (for you noobs – ‘fast’ and ‘pissed’ are two essential ingredients of grind and powerviolence and Despise You let the cup runeth over in And On and On…) The duality of the low end, straightforward male vocals, combined with the high-end rants of the female vocals, add humor and depth to tracks that constantly remain on the verge of frenzy. The split takes its name from Despise You track “Roll Call,” where the grindy, d-beat-infused anthem rants “Fuck you, fuck your friends, fuck the courts, fuck it all, fuck your job..fuck this song and on and on..”
Classic.
One of my favorite moments on this 16-minute, 18-track offering from Despise You, comes on track 7, aptly titled “Fear’s Song.” This modern grind spin on Fear’s classic “I Don’t Care About You” is off-the-meat-rack, with new vocal lines like “10,000 lawyers dead on Robertson. Felt good to just come back and look at them. We were fucking laughing at them.” Everything you loved about powerviolence in the early 90s can be found here. Meaty bass distortion, stripped-down, blazing fast, dueling male and female vox, d-beat segments, distortion, quick-1-minute-or-less song lengths…do I really need to go on?
And let’s not forget about Agoraphobic Nosebleed’s offerings. ANb‘s seven tracks kick off with “Half Dead,” an aptly titled, sludgy, crusty offering from a band that buries expectations with each new release. Ambient and guttural vocals are trailed by dragging drums and riffs that carry on for several minutes before resolving into “As Bad As It Is,” where the band smashes the pedal to floor and makes a b-line through the hammer-lane tossing cars off the road as seen in Matrix Reloaded. Welcome guitar shred. Welcome crushing drums. Welcome rawness. Welcome Scott Hull production. No need to wipe your feet as you enter, it’s time to get brutalized. If you couldn’t get your head around ANb‘s earlier releases, have no fear, the band never sticks to any ascertainable formula and has once again, all but reinvented themselves.
Steal this split if you have to.
Sample at ANb’s Facebook
Pre-Order at Relapse Records
More info: Despise You Facebook
Despise You Live 924 Gilman St. – Short Fast & Loud 2011
[youtube width=”560″ height=”349″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KEjZZIx77No[/youtube]
Despise You Live 924 Gilman St. – Short Fast & Loud 2011
[youtube width=”560″ height=”349″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXT8O27X14g[/youtube]
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