Imagine my surprise when I popped this cd in and started listening! When I saw “punk skate rock” listed as the style, I imagined something that would sound like Green Day or Reliant K, and was somewhat hesitant to listen to it. However, I’m sure glad that I did! It just goes to show that we shouldn’t be turned off by “labels” or “music types” as we could be missing out on some great music. And great music it is!
This CD is a follow up to their debut self-titled album which is often referred to as “The Red Album”. I hit the play button, anticipating Green Day sound-alikes and behold what did I hear? Solid hard classic punk rock with heavy guitars and riffs, angst driven (and sometimes comedic) vocals, with fast and nasty rhythms. Punk pop this is not! If you are a fan of punk rock and old-school skate punk, then you will dig this! If you read Thrasher magazine, you will dig this!
The cd starts off with “Relentless Leathernecks” and immediately conjures up memories where Black Flag and GBH come to mind. It’s also one of the longest songs on the CD, clocking in at 1:29.
The second song “I The Contrite” clocks in at 0:53 and reminds me of old Sex Pistols.
Track 3 titled “Turn Your Head and Snip” comes in at a mere 20 second and is a fast and fun song and reminds me of old school punk from the
late 70’s and early to mid-80’s, as do most of the songs on the CD.
“Halloween” is my personal favorite song and 1:27 in length. It’s a cover of the Misfits song of the same name. Reminds me of the old punk style meets Grave Robber horror punk and, of course, the Misfits!!!!!! Heavy riffing and a gang chorus, I can sing along to this one! The cover is actually quite good and does the Misfits justice.
“Turn your head and Cough” is a funny short burst at 3 seconds.
Track 6 “To Have and To Have Not” is another fun hard rocking punk song that clocks in at 2:24 and reminds me a bit of skate/beach punk aka old Red Hot Chili Peppers, the Circle Jerks, and Nobody Special.
The last track, #7 (hence the title “This One Goes To Seven”) is not what I would expect on a punk record or any heavy music CD to be honest. Titled “The Walking Dead”, which is a Billy Bragg cover, it is an interesting, eclectic acoustic mix of comedy meets Rockabilly (think Stray Cats) meets horror punk (Misfits, Grave Robber, Lurking Corpses). It’s nice to see this band has a sense of humor and that they don’t take themselves too seriously. Clocking in at 3:43, this is the longest song on the CD. “This goes out to all the ladies!”
Overall, a fun punk rock EP containing 6 short “real” punk songs with attitude and 1 eclectic acoustic punkabilly (I just made that word up!) song that is sure to make you laugh, this is a great EP that I highly recommend to punk rock fans, as well as hard rock/metal fans that are looking for something different from the norm. I’m looking forward to hearing their next release!
Rating: 7 out of 10
Written by: Thrasher777
Track Listing:
1. Relentless Leathernecks
2. I The Contrite
3. Turn Your Head And Snip
4. Halloween (Misfits cover)
5. Turn Your Head And Cough
6. To Have And To Have Not (Billy Bragg cover)
Band members:
Jimmy: guitars, lead vocals
Byron: bass, vocals
Aaron: drums
Bob: guitars
Label: Thumper Punk Records / 2011
Weblinks: Reverbnation / Facebook
And a great video for “Relentless Leathernecks” to boot…https://youtu.be/jNKKGbANFhg