New record reviews

Recently, I went up to a record store in search of the Void LP that Dischord put out a while back and I finally got my hands on it! I'm sure most people have heard the Hit and Run demo's that have been floating around and if you like Void, then you know that those recordings needed to be cleaned up and made official because they fucking shred!

Void was one of those bands that was total chaos and could totally push you over the edge. And this record delivers that and more. I would say that this is their best recording. I love the split they did with The Faith, but this one seems a little more raw to me. A little faster and just all around explosive. I've always been a fan of John's vocals. His delivery sounds like a mental patient trying to escape the loony bin. Spastic, angry, moody and all around insane. But even with their chaotic sound, they could still have some fun in the middle of it all with a "yee haw" thrown into a song like "Go South."

I like the lay out of the record a lot because it has some cool photo's I've never seen before. Ian gives his thoughts and an abbreviated history of the band on the back of the jacket. And there's a couple of live tracks added at the end. According to Ian's notes, the last song is possibly the last song they ever played live. My only complaint about the record is that there are was no lyric sheet for it. I would love to know the lyrics to these songs, but oh well. Won't stop me from enjoying it.  

I decided to buy a couple of records from a couple of bands I knew almost nothing about. Just do it the way we used to before there was Amazon or Itunes or the internet in general, to give us a preview. I purchased the Sectarian Violence s/t 7" and the WarXGames 9 trax / No Nightmare 7"

Let's start with WarXGames. These guys hail from Charm City (that's Baltimore, for those of you that don't know) and they come out swinging! WOW! It starts out with an instrumental that goes into a song called "Into Dust" and I almost shit my pants at the awesomeness that was coming through my speakers. Holy shit, that song by itself had me sold. They've got a sound that reminds me of Infest, but a little faster. They're fucking intense! Music is short and to the point and the lyrics range from thoughts of suicide and depression to all around darkness within.

I'm not familiar with any of the guys in the band, so I'm not sure if they're in any others. Regardless, they sound amazing. Real tight with their instruments and vocals. One can only hope that they're going to be around for a while. REACT! Records put out this masterpiece and I am stoked to hear some more from these guys. 

Next up is the Sectarian Violence s/t 7" and I got it because I saw that Nicktape is singing for them. If you don't know who he is, then you're missing out on the greatness that is Coke Bust. Apparently, he is in this band with a few guys from the U.K. and Sweden. Don't know who they are, but I am glad that they came together for this band. I was hoping for something good, but I didn't want Coke Bust 2.0

I am totally digging this record. 6 songs that kick ass! I dig the lyrics and the music is straight up HARDCORE! "No Regard" and "Self Destruct" are easily my stand out favorites on here, but all the songs will make you want to go off. I like Nick's vocals, but if I didn't already know that he was the singer, I might not have guessed that he sang for this band. He sounds just a little different on here. Can't put my finger on it. Anyway, do yourself a favor and get this if you haven't already. You won't regret it. Grave Mistake records just keeps putting out records from some awesome bands. Props to that label. 

D.C.S.