Souls of Sacrifice

Devastation
Idolatry
1991

If you're a fan of Seasons in the Abyss era Slayer, then download Devsatations's Idolaty right now. Go ahead and skip the next paragraph and come back to it once you've got the download started. If you're not a fan of Seasons in the Abyss era Slayer, then kindly show yourself out.

Corpus Christi, Texas's Devastation never broke through to the big leagues, but the only thing I can figure is that this album sounds too much like Slayer for some people (aside from Rodney Dunsmore's desperate, raspy vocals, which are a far cry from Mr. Araya's bark). This is top-tier playing from a second-tier band. This was their final record, but they reformed a year or so ago and reissued it w/ new artwork and three all-new tracks by the new lineup. I have not heard them, and apparently the remaster job is a real brick of shit. Too bad.

Do yourself a favor.
Idolatry

Here Comes The Wrecking Crew

Black Death
Black Death
1984

Cleveland, Ohio's Black Death might be the first all African-American metal band, putting their own twist on the term Black Metal. Of course, they don't play Black Metal, though, so maybe that joke isn't really funny. At any rate, coming off like the bastard punk child of Thin Lizzy and Motorhead, with a little King Diamond thrown in for good measure, Black Death will rip your limbs off and beat you with them. It's sloppy and corny, but it destroys none the less.

Black Death

Porno Slut

The Exploited
The Massacre
1990

The Exploited are famous for their early output, classics like Punks Not Dead and Let's Start A War (Said Maggie One Day), but for my money, their later, more metal stuff is way better. This record has been my favorite Exploited record since it first came out. The oi/street punk leanings of the early work is gone, replaced by thick distorted guitars, faster tempos, and a nice beefy production. There are elements of thrash and hardcore in here too, but the lyrics are still the same ol' Exploited you've come to love (see "Don't Pay The Poll Tax", and "Boys In Blue" for prime examples). My impression is that a lot of punks sort of grew up and forgot about The Exploited, but the thing is The Exploited grew up too. This record is killer, and they've cranked out 2 solid ones since.

The Massacre

Mouse in my Beer

The Oswalds
Don't Panic
1995
Vinyl Rip

First and foremost, let me point out that the above image is not actually the cover of this 7", though that image is on the cover. There's a scanner sitting 2 feet from me, but I've yet to install it/figure out how to use it, so I don't have the cover for this one at the ready. My bad.

The Oswalds were a big part of the 90s punk scene in Atlanta, and along with bands such as The Tone-Deaf Pig Dogs, Smedley and the Space Cadets, Stopper, Suspect Device, Victim 9, Obnoxious Kids, and my own band Round Ear Spock spent several years playing shows around town, most notably at a hole-in-the-wall called The Somber Reptile. These were good times. In my personal opinion, The Oswalds were the best band in this little scene. They mixed the speed and humor of NoFX and the pop-punk of The Queers with a twist of hardcore and metal, especially in the later days. There were some talented dudes in this band, such as drummer Mike Green, who is now in Light Pupil Dilate, and Mike Brennan, now in the mighty Javelina. Those two bands don't really give any indication as to what The Oswalds sound like, though, so keep that in mind. This is basic 90s new-school punk, but it's fun and exciting, if a little juvenile, and they put on a hell of a good show. They had a whole album's worth of material that never got released, and though I had a crappy ripped-from-a-cassette version of that stuff on cd once, I have no idea what happened to it. If I ever track the rest of their stuff down, I'll let you know. Oh, and they had a cassette-only release prior to this 7" called Aim Low, but I don't have it any more either.

The "Little Bit O' Soul" cover was a bad choice, I'll give you that, but "Mouse In My Beer" and "sXe Sucks" are unstoppable, and "(Every Kitchen Needs A) Riot Grrrl" is cute too. It's also funny, given that last track, to note that after The Oswalds disbanded, several members reformed in the much crustier, heavier 12 Ounces (who I'll post another day) who had a much more political and socially conscious lyrical bent.

Don't Panic