The Crass Menagerie

#100 - The Final Issue (Part Three)

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Sound Pound - Reviews of the Entire Slap A Ham Catalog (Continued)

Slap A Ham Records #46

GASP

Drome Triler of Puzzle Zoo People

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #67 of The Crass Menagerie)

MAN IS THE BASTARD is THE premiere first generation power violence band and their influence is felt far and wide in the genre, but not until now has their penchant for musical diversity been matched and built upon. GASP is unreal! Their music is a bizarre, yet dead on, marriage of extreme hardcore, noise, industrial, and avant garde. I’ve never heard anything quite like it and certainly nothing even close to it that is so effective and powerful. I have GASP’s first demo, but even that didn’t prepare me for the amazing noise on this CD. One moment GASP will be driving you into the dirt with a massively heavy barrage of hardcore then shift fluidly into psychotic noise patterns that will trip you out. It is like the musical realization of that semi-conscious state you pass through when waking up slowly; that not quite awake but no longer asleep time when your perceptions are completely askew. The evolutionary jump this band has made in unprecedented in power violence. This CD will undoubtedly be looked back on as a seminal recording in extreme music and has already thrown the door wide open as to the future possibilities of the scene.

Slap A Ham Records #47

PHOBIA

Means of Existence

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #66 of The Crass Menagerie)

In addition to being one of the most intense live bands I've ever seen, PHOBIA are the cream on grindcore's milk. This new full length is their best showing yet. How do bands who are this good actually manage to get better each time out of the chute? I dunno, but they are faster and more pointed than ever before. This is grind that will bring to mind the early years of NAPALM DEATH. So raw and pissed that it oozes negative energy like a festering boil oozes pus. There is a political theme running throughout the disc that attacks and questions humanities' treatment of other species we share this planet with. Whether you love metal, power violence, noise, crust, grind, hardcore, or polka this is going to be one of your new favorite albums.

PHOBIA

Means Of Existence

12" (Colored Vinyl)

Reviewed By: Eric

(This review originally appeared in The Crass Menagerie #73)

Holy Shit !!! This is the stuff that knocks your teeth out and sends you running. The "BEST" album of the year from The "BEST" grindcore band in the world!!! Like Chris (Dodge) said "Brutal would be an understatement!!" Phobia is setting the standard for which grindcore is to be played. Intelligent and political, FAST!!! and slow, this album has every thing. Low growling vocals mixed with high screeching cry's and unrelenting riffs, this is a must have in any record collection. These guys will definitely go down in history, the way I see it they should be passing this out on the streets, You Need! to hear it. Don't just put it on your "Want" list put this on your "NEED" list. I had never really heard them before I bought this album, maybe the 7" once or twice at my friends house, but never really paid attention to them. So I get the record in the mail and pop it on to the turn table, I just stood there with my mouth hanging open!! It was the most amazing stuff I had ever heard!!! Comparison might be to Agoraphobic Nose Bleed!! They really don't sound like them at all, it's just the power that each of them pack in their punch is the same. They both have that real strong, heavy, full, raw sound that I really like. So go get this what are you waiting for ? Send off an order to Slap a Ham Now!!!

Slap A Ham Records #48

BURNED UP BLED DRY

Cloned Slaves for Slaves

7" (clear green, swirled vinyl)

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #66 of The Crass Menagerie)

These boys are from Arkansas and apparently their idea of Southern Hospitality is to rip your face off with their ferocious grind. I'm still trying to figure out what I am going to do without my face.... BURNED UP BLED DRY's brand of core is an equal mixture of aggression and heaviness. Their punishing onslaught of noise pays homage to the blistering devastation of early 80's hate-core but their delivery is far more in the vein of nineties grindcore. One of the most appealing things about the record is the fact that the tunes, while not sacrificing one iota of power, manage to have some (dare I say it?) hooks. Southern Fried power violence? Could be, you know how them kids from the South are....

Slap A Ham Records #49

BURNING WITCH

Towers

12" (Colored Vinyl)

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #70 of The Crass Menagerie)

It is time for a new edition of the Book of Doom. A new chapter called BURNING WITCH needs to be added. "Towers" is a monument to all that is right in doom metal. Slow, churning guitars plow furrows of noise amidst a deliberate rhythm section whose beat herald’s the Apocalypse. The vocals are the sounds of unfathomable human suffering. One minute the singer is wailing away in a quasi-clean voice and the next he is screeching and growling like a man possessed. The only valid comparison I can make might be a combination of both the old style and new style vocals of Tom G. Warrior of CELTIC FROST. In fact, old CELTIC FROST is a good point of reference for much of this album because of the massive sound and the one-of-a-kind approach. Almost everything about this album is innovative and, as we all know, innovation is a rare commodity in doom. BURNING WITCH master the essence of heaviness and incorporate their own unique twist into a sound that includes both classic SABBATH influences and neo-sludge overtones. It almost sounds like it hurt them to create this noise and with only four songs that combine for over half and hour of music, only true fans of metallic pain dare venture too near the flames of the witch.

Slap A Ham Records #50

ANCIENT CHINESE SECRET

Caveat Emptor

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #78 of The Crass Menagerie)

What we have here is one of the most adventurous and exciting forays into the fringe of extreme hardcore in a long time (the fringe of the fringe you might say). A.C.S. consists of two long time mainstays in the power violence underground, namely Matt Martin (ex CAPITALIST CASUALTIES) and Chris Dodge (SPAZZ, Slap A Ham Records, etc) teamed up with trained female vocalist Lydia Dodge who admits to not even liking power violence. The result is an experimental hardcore album that captures the imagination, revels in eclecticism, and still manages to rock your pathetic world. With only bass guitar, drums, vocals, and various key and tape loop embellishments A.C.S. do things with their music that I guarantee you’ve never heard the likes of before. Their uniqueness is so much a part of their sound that even from track to track they are vastly diverse. Whether it is a song like "The Basics" that has the flavor and directness of early NOMEANSNO or "Sakura" which is as close to "normal" power violence as A.C.S. gets or even the organ interlude "The Overlook", ANCIENT CHINESE SECRET will keep you guessing. Anyone interested in hearing something different needs to check this out. Folks who gravitate towards bands that reject the norm (MITB, GASP, etc) will find their new gods in A.C.S. because in a lot ways this album bridges the gap between the familiar and the bizarre. It has enough roots and simplistic pummeling power to connect it to hardcore fans yet is left of center enough to appeal to fans of music that is way "out there". Hopefully people are smart enough make the connection because it would be a crime if this album got lost somewhere in the middle.

Slap A Ham Records #51

FUCK ON THE BEACH

Power Violence Forever

CD/LP

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #74 of The Crass Menagerie)

Screeched vocals, frantic guitars, whirlwind beats, and sheer aural overload have become this band's trademark and this debut full length certainly only adds to that reputation. I don't know what has gotten into these boys but it must be akin to nitroglycerin because this is unbelievably explosive. Fastcore on overdrive. F.O.B. don't do the tough guy shtick, they don't worry about being heavier than thou, instead they opt for chaos, frenzy, speed, and more speed. Listening to this album is almost like drowning, there is never a chance to come up for breath. There isn't even a break between tracks... every cut bleeds into the next. A little over 20 tracks in a little over 20 minutes plus on the CD version an entire live set that is worth the price of this sucker alone. When I listen to this baby I can't help but remember the first time I heard D.R.I's debut record. It is that overwhelming! F.O.B. have catapulted themselves to the forefront of the Japanese fastcore scene with this disc and only a fool would pass it up.

Slap A Ham Records #52

LACK OF INTEREST

Trapped Inside

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #78 of The Crass Menagerie)

About 6 minutes shy of a million years after their formation the Southern Cal gods of thrash violence finally rip the entire universe a new one with their debut long player. It’s about time guys. LACK OF INTEREST are the purest old school style thrash band embraced by the power violence scene. They are strongly reminiscent of early eighties hate core legends like NEGATIVE FX and NEGATIVE APPROACH. They have the same intensity, the same rawness, the same anger and the same classic vibe. "Trapped Inside" features newly recorded songs that span most of the band’s career including their calling card "My Life" which is THE thrash anthem of the nineties. There are 24 tracks on this puppy and a good half of them run less than thirty seconds (only three of them break the one minute barrier) consequently this album kills with a speed and power not unlike being strapped into an electric chair. This is the band and this is the album that you can cram down the throat of the next jaded old fart who tries to tell you that "punk is dead".

Slap A Ham Records #53

Various Artists

Ham Slappin’ Hits

Cassette only compilatuion

(This review originally appeared right here in The Crass Menagerie #100)

This release was partially a joke, partially a Christmas present from Slap A Ham kingpin Chris Dodge to friends, and partially something to drive Slap A Ham collectors nuts. Around Christmas time, on his home stereo, Chris recorded a "best of Slap A Ham" compilation tape. He did some homemade covers, told people it was some music to offset the horrible seasonal music of Christmas, and mailed a handful of these hand numbered babies out as presents. Originally he was going to do fifty of them but he ran out of energy and to date there are less than half that many out there. Considering the source of the music it is one of the strongest compilation tapes I have ever heard, but really any SAH nut could make one for themselves.

Slap A Ham Records #54

SPAZZ

Crush, Kill, Destroy

CD

Review by: Jeb - newly elected ruler of the (formerly) free world

(This review originally appeared in issue #78 of The Crass Menagerie)

Ahhhhh yes. As one of the highest profile bands in extreme hardcore all eyes (and ears) have been turned to SPAZZ for the release of their fourth full length CD titled, appropriately, "Crush, Kill, Destroy". Expectations are high because this album is in many ways a "State of the Scene" barometer, especially considering that 1999 is turning out to be THE year of extreme music. Needless to say SPAZZ don’t disappoint. "Crush, Kill, Destroy" is the catapult that launches extreme hardcore in general, and power violence in particular, into Y2K and it does so with enough velocity to keep it going strong for the duration of the millennium. Taking lessons learned over the entirety of their career, SPAZZ have forged their sharpest and most overpowering release to date. They have combined the chaotic intensity of their early releases, the heavy handed crunch of their metal tinged mid-career sound and the superior song writing of the "La Revancha" period. They have then striped down and streamlined everything, giving their sound a more thrash oriented flavor. Every song hits hard, fast, and savagely. Lyrically SPAZZ are more developed than on past releases, I especially enjoy the lyrics for "Let’s Fucking Go" which extolls the virtues of the word "Go" as hardcore iconography, "Now 50% More Pants Shitting" which denounces racist language in the scene and "Dwarf Goober Militia" which is instructions for writing your own SPAZZ lyrics. Other stellar moments lyrically can be found on "heynerdshovetheinternetupyourgapinganalcavity@dork.com" which rips into online only scenesters, "Hardcore Before Mark McCoy was Emo Semen" which gives highly deserved props to BCT tapes, and "Gary Monardo’s Record Vault Shirt" which will hopefully turn a few more people onto the totally underrated and nearly forgotten masters of thrash metal ARTILLERY. The CD’s packaging is great and includes lots of pics, flyer pics, and a complete discography for everyone vainly trying to secure all forty five of their appearances on vinyl, tape and CD. You absolutely need to own this if you ever even dared to pretend you were into hardcore.

Slap A Ham Records #55

CROSSED OUT

1990-1993

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #84 of The Crass Menagerie)

CROSSED OUT was in existence for less than three years, during which time they released only one 7" one split 7" and one split 5". Doesn't seem like the résumé of one of the most influential bands in extreme hardcore does it? But without question they were. This CD, which is the first official CROSSED OUT discography (and then some), is literally a primer of first wave power violence. CROSSED OUT are a melding of raw thrash, pulverizing grind and bone jarring heaviness that lurches back and forth between blazing and plodding in what seemed, at the time it was recorded, like incongruent randomness but is now easily recognizable as the blueprint for power violence. As I carefully revisited these tunes while writing this review I was reminded of how much the CROSSED OUT influence still resounds in the pv bands of today. I was also astounded to realize that these tunes are as relevant and listenable now as they were when first released. If these songs were new they would still be more intense than 99% of the extreme hardcore currently being released. What that means is this CD is more than just a history lesson or a curious look back at the roots of power violence, it is an album that is gonna kick you upside the head! You are going to want to listen to this CD for what it is, not for what it represents. Hell this is so vicious that when I put it on my music shelf all the other hardcore and metal CDs started to cry for their mommy.

Slap A Ham Records #56

HELLNATION

Cheerleaders For Imperialism

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #86 of The Crass Menagerie)

Although I have been a fan of HELLNATION for years they have never in the past blown my mind as completely as they have on their last two releases "Fucked Up Mess" and now "Cheerleaders For Imperialism". It isn't often that a band continues to push themselves to new pinnacles after a decade of slugging it out in the underground. Maybe the fact "Cheerleaders For Imperialism" is such a unique project is one of the reasons it comes across so raw and so in-your-face that it bloodies your nose. The CDs uniqueness is due to many factors, not the least of which being the circumstances surrounding its creation... To enumerate just a few... It was recorded in San Francisco (a far cry from the band's Kentucky home) just prior to their embarking on last year's European tour. The drums were borrowed. They only had one cabinet for both the bass and guitar. They were minus a bassist so used a hired gun in the form of Spazz' Chris Dodge. Three of the songs were written in the studio, although because the album is a reflection of a tour set it consists mostly of re-recorded HELLNATION classics, most of which sound more ferocious here than on their original releases. I could go on, but you get the point... this is not your average LP. In a recent interview band kingpin Ken described the project as a "Peel Sessions" of sort, and that description is dead on. Just like many "Peel Sessions" the performance on "Cheerleaders..." has an urgency that grabs you. I might be going a bit far to say this is the best HELLNATION album ever, but then again I might not. It is certainly going to be a favorite.

Slap A Ham Records #57

FUCK ON THE BEACH

Endless Summer

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #93 of The Crass Menagerie)

I clearly remember that the first time I heard F.O.B. it was reminiscent of the first time I heard D.R.I. - I was completely floored by the sheer frenzy and dementia of the music. So when I heard that on their new album F.O.B. were "expanding" and "maturing" their sound I couldn't help but think of D.R.I. again, but this time the thought brought trepidation because no matter how much I like later D.R.I. there is no denying they lost something special when they changed their sound (circa 1985) . Fortunately there was no need for concern on my part. F.O.B. may have "changed" slightly but they haven't "tamed" their sound one bit. It isn't that they have steered away from the complete mania of their delivery, it is more that they have added other dimensions to it. Their sound is thicker with more variety and more classic hardcore vibes than before. I think they realized that no matter how masterful their sound on the first album "Power Violence Forever" there was only so much they could do within that framework without getting stale. They realized that to keep their insane delivery from losing its edge due to repetition they needed to flesh it out without toning it down. To me it is the difference between early and later CAPITALIST CASUALTIES. They also shake things up a bit with some sludge and even about 10 seconds of rapping. I hope this review doesn't come across like I am making excuses for the new F.O.B., I'm not. They don't need me to because this is their best material yet.

Slap A Ham Records #58

CHRIS DODGE / DAVE WITTE

East - West Blast Test

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in The Crass Menagerie, but I can’t figure out which issue)

I had the distinct pleasure of getting an advance tape of this album well in advance of its release and I can honestly say that after weeks of listening to it I continue to discover new flavors and shades of sound with each listen. Scene mainstays Chris Dodge and Dave Witte have secured enough of a cult of personality (at least amongst readers of this zine) that I am not going to list their impressive pedigrees but instead focus on what this "clash of titans" has produced musically. The entire CD is built on 27 rapid-fire drum flare-ups that all last somewhere in the 30 second to 1 minute range. Layered on top of the hyper pounding is an amalgamation of fastcore, noise, thrash, weirdness, power violence and good ole' punk rock. Sometimes if shreds in a fairly recognizable hardcore style and other times it lurches and jerks and swirls and generally explodes in a million different directions not unlike what you might get if Colin of the DOG FACED HERMANS tried to play jazz versions of the ANCIENT CHINESE SECRET album. There is a little bit of everything on here and then some...there are instrumental tracks, songs with death growl vocals, tunes with female vocal calisthenics (courtesy of Lydia from the aforementioned A.C.S.), cuts with razor sharp riffing, pieces of GRIEF-esque sludge and more. If you have a wide open mind you are going to be blown away by the degree of experimentation on this CD. If you have a closed mind and only like your hardcore fast, loud, and violent you are going to be blown away by how every song on this CD fits that bill. If you are a fan of anything Chris Dodge or Dave Witte have done in the past you will want to add this to your collection pronto. If you don't like Dodge or Witte... well... I hear you can get Backstreet Boys CDs at Burger King, ya bozo.

Slap A Ham Records #59

VARIOUS ARTISTS

Short, Fast + Loud Volume #1

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #91 of The Crass Menagerie)

This CD is a companion piece to the new zine by the same title published by Chris Dodge of Slap A Ham Records. Short, Fast + Loud (both the zine and the compilation) is dedicated to exclusively presenting the very best in extreme hardcore. As the prior generation of hardcore fans get old, get jaded and declare that "hardcore is dead" (so they can have an excuse to go mainstream) a new generation picks up the banner and revitalizes a worldwide underground with sounds that are more extreme, more violent, more over-the-top and more passionate than ever before. This CD features a relatively small sampling of bands (forty) from this new wave, all of whom know that, not only is hardcore not dead, it has more life than ever before. As with most compilations like this there are a few bands that might be described as "weak links" but for the most part this is a totally punishing compilation that all fans of the extreme must own. Highlights for me include POINT OF FEW, LIFE IN A BURN CLINIC, DATACLAST, DEAD NATION, DAYBREAK, DESPITE, WILBUR COBB, IRON LUNG, LANA DAGALES, LIFE'S HALT, PIGNATION, RUINACRE, SHANK, W.H.N.? and THE ULTIMATE WARRIORS.

Slap A Ham Records #60

SPAZZ

Sweatin' 3: Skatin', Satan & Katon

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #97 of The Crass Menagerie)

Is this really the end of SPAZZ? "Sweatin' 3" is part three of a three part series from SPAZZ that collects rare, obscure and out-of-print tunes for the kidzz. It is also their first posthumous release. It containzz 67 songzz from splitzz with 25 TA LIFE (the most infamous SPAZZ release ever), MONSTER X, GOB, L.O.I., OPSTAND, BLACK ARMY JACKET, SLOBBER and HIRAX plus the complete "Tastin' Spoon" 5" and several compilation trackzz including the scarce classic "Gummo Love Theme." For fanzz of the band this is an essential collection and you don't need me telling you how great it is. If, however, you are one of those vile and paganistic not-yet-a-SPAZZ-fan kind of people let me encourage you to finally take the plunge. Of the three Sweatin' volumezz this is the one that most definezz the band. It capturezz SPAZZ at the top of their game. Many of the songzz on this disc are among the best SPAZZ ever created. Plus you get a taste of everything that made SPAZZ a hardcore icon: humor (check out the GOB split), raw intensity (the "Possessed To Skate" trackzz), insider banter (the L.O.I. split), unrivaled songwriting ("Gummo Love Theme") and a double barrel barrage of hardcore ferocity (the 25 TA LIFE split). You need this CD only slightly less than you need air to breathe.

Slap A Ham Records #61 (This will now be released on 625 Thrashcore www.625thrashcore.com and Deep Six Records www.deepsixrecords.com)

SHANK

Coded Messages in Slowed Down Songs

Advance CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #99 of The Crass Menagerie)

To say I had high expectations for this album would be an understatement. I expected it to be one of the best records of the year and, although it has been pushed back so that the year in question is 2002, it is everything I expected and more. SHANK play a no-frills flavor of frantic thrash that will have your speakers pounding so fast you'll be lucky if they don't burst into flame from friction heat-that is until they slow down (just for contrast), at which point their pounding takes on the rhythm of continental drift as is just as unstoppable. Their furious delivery is matched by their intelligent lyrics and the rough and tumble production job on "Coded Messages in Slowed Down Songs" that is surprisingly in-your-face and clear considering it was recorded in a basement for like two bucks and a subway token (if I have my stories straight). I know the band hates labels, but fans of power violence should put buying this album on their "to do" list right now because SHANK is one of only a handful of bands who can be mentioned in the same breathe as first-wave PV bands without embarrassment. SHANK doesn't really sound like CROSSED OUT but they have the same frenetic energy and use contrasting fast and slow parts just as effectively.

SHANK

Coded Messages in Slowed Down Songs

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in In Music We Trust issue #50)

Although it almost took an act of congress and a visitation by a supreme being, the "Coded Messages In Slowed Down Songs" LP/CD by SHANK has finally been let loose to feed on the masses. Boasting one of the most classic thrashcore/power violence sounds ever, SHANK are a band with enough brains to be gutty and enough guts to be brainy. Lyrically they slaughter sacred cows of punk rock right and left and question the McCulture that is festering everywhere in the scene. Unlike many bands who take a psuedo post-modern approach to deconstructing what they see (with no comment on alternatives or no real questions worthy of answers), SHANK provides plenty of food for thought. They take the time to comment on all their lyrics. They raise questions worthy of discussion thus providing something of worth after the deconstruction. Maybe not reconstruction, but certainly progression (if only in understanding). Musically the band is a throwback to the first-wave of 90s ultra-thrash. Without copying the sound, they tap into the frantic vibe of NO COMMENT, the brash attitude of MAN IS THE BASTARD, the pure hardcore fury of INFEST and the pounding crush of CROSSED OUT. Originally slated for release on Slap A Ham, you can now find this future "top ten of the year" album at Deep Six Records and 625 Thrash Records. (Deep Six Records/625 Thrash www.625thrashcore.com or www.deepsixrecords.com)

Slap A Ham Records #62

YACOPSAE

Einstweilige Vernichtung

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in The Crass Menagerie #97)

Someone once described me as a person who has "a million ways of saying brutal," which may be true, but I would have to use them all to effectively describe the fierceness of this album. Most bands that play unrelenting million-mile-an-hour fastcore sound like they are chaos incarnate-like they are about to reach escape velocity and go flying out of control. YACOPSAE are just the opposite. In spite of the fact they are one of the fastest bands I have ever heard their turbo-charged thrash is a model of precision and accuracy. Whereas most fastcore has an impact like a clusterbomb, YACOPSAE are more like a laser guided weapon used for surgical strikes. You could safely say they are tighter than the skin around Joan Rivers eyes following a facelift. Every one of the 37 songbursts on this album is like a kick in the groin--short and violent, but apt to leave a lasting impression. If you thought the evolution of power violence was inevitably leading towards mathcore or screamo, then think again sucka because YACOPSAE is currently the zenith of the species. I am not exaggerating one iota when I say this album will go down as one of the greatest releases on Slap A Ham ever. People will be talking about this album in the same breathe as NO COMMENT's "Downsided," LACK OF INTEREST's "Trapped Inside" or the CROSSED OUT 7". The only flaw on the entire release is the gore pictures inside the CD. When are bands going to learn that regardless of the message they are trying to send gore art only detracts?

Slap A Ham Records #63

NOOTHGRUSH

Failing Early, Failing Often

CD

Review by: Jeb

(This review originally appeared in issue #46 of In Music We Trust)

One way to appreciate music is to understand the meter, or "time," it is performed in. For example, it might be "2/4 time," or "3/4 time" or "4/4 time." In the case of NOOTHGRUSH the music is performed in "geological time." That's right, this is the band whose riffs are so plodding that continental drift, by contrast, appears downright hasty. Calling this music "slow" is like calling The Beatles "moderately successful"-it's a definite understatement. "Failing Early, Failing Often" is a posthumous collection of many (most? all?) of the early recordings from these seminal and cranium-cracking lords of sludge. It includes songs from several comps, their Slap A Ham 7", their split with BLACK ARMY JACKET, and their "Kashyyyk" demo; which to this day remains one of my favorite slowcore releases ever and is still able to undermine the structural integrity of any building it is played in. Obviously influenced by bands like GRIEF, NOOTHGRUSH, however, remains an unmistakable and vital band whose audio carnage will be sorely missed (rumor has it the band was forced to disband by the government who was tired of getting seismic readings in the 6+ range every time NOOTHGRUSH played). In addition to all that, they are the only band I have had a conversation with that included the words "Chewbacca action-figure-holding bandolier."

Slap A Ham Records #64

OTOPHOBIA

Malignant

CD

Review by: Jeb

(Originally appears right here in The Crass Menagerie issue #100)

Although I don’t know if I will ever recover emotionally of psychologically from the trauma caused by the fact Slap A Ham Records is closing up shop, I can take some small comfort in this, their final release. I was born in Pittsburgh so it ruffles my feathers a bit to admit a band haling from Philadelphia is great, but I’m a man, I can do it. OTOPHOBIA are a solid mix of grindcore and crust. One song they will be tearing through a track sounding like PHOBIA’s little brother (a brother Otto, perhaps?) then the next song will be rife with classic hardcore riffing and gargled vocals so crusty you can almost smell the halitosis. Lyrically the band forgo socio-political ranting and focus on follies and foibles closer to home. The decry every type of scene idiot you can think of... the tough guys, the hypocrites, the posers, the drunks, etc. There are 21 tracks in just under 30 minutes that range in length from three seconds to over four minutes, with most clocking in around the one minute mark. The vinyl version of this is on Deep Six and, as you know, I always recommend you get the wax, but with all apologies to Bob and Christine at Deep Six, this is the last damn SAH release ever. What kind of complete chowderhead would NOT buy this? Certainly nobody reading this zine is that stupid.

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End of Part Three