June 29, 2004

{ Venomous Concept - Retroactive Abortion }

I had about 20 minutes of review for this album completed when my browser (the sublime Mozilla Firefox 0.9.1) decided to install a plugin and close all of my open windows without asking me first. Needless to say, I was angry. But not nearly as angry as I was listening to this album for the first time. Driving home, I found myself approaching 100 mph, foaming at the mouth and wishing there was a midget handy so that I could beat the holy hell out of him. Now that I have your attention, the band Venomous Concept is made up of members of "supergroups" like The Melvins, Fantomas and Napalm Death. This self-proclaimed "Most Handsome Band in the World" has put together 30 minutes of sheer aggression. From the opening track, the album is relentless with it's chuggachugga guitar riffs, machine-gun drumming and blistering vocals. It feels even more frantic due to the fact that there is virtually NO gap between songs. I was on track 3 before I realized that it was a different song. And that's not necessarily a bad thing - to quote their site, this is "Shit hot hardcore punk at a punk price!" In this reviewer's honest opinion, this is the FASTEST album I've heard in a long time. Skirting the borders between socially conscious punk and fullout cock-rock thrash metal, this album punches you right in the face and unabashedly takes your lunch money. For me, a die-hard fan of brutal speed metal, it was a welcome dose of the ultra-violence. I couldn't understand what the singer was screaming but I'll be damned if he didn't sound pissed off. And, in turn, I got pissed off. When an album makes me feel the same thing the lead singer is feeling (or is conveying in their lyrics), I know it's a keeper. So, to quote their site again, Retroactive Abortion is "outlaw punk" at it's finest. 28 minutes of noise, aggression and a few interesting tempo changes, it's going on my iPod to join my hardcore playlist simply because it can hold it's own with Pantera and Slipknot. Metallica fans need not apply.

» Get kicked in the fucking grill at the band's site

» Buy it...

By Alan Smithee in Music | Comments: