Crossover. It’s not new. It’s not big. It’s not clever. But…….it’s fucking good fun.
These Swedes play bandana wearin’, skateboard ridin’, nuclear waste huffin’, acid green thrashcore. These guys play in Skull masks with ST style bandanas. You can call it contrived cliché, I like to call it livin’ the dream baby. This is these Stockholm boys third album and the first to feature new vocalist Dr Mania.
These 13 tracks open with “Final Broadcast” a clichéd apocalyptic montage of faux news reports atop a fucktonne of riffage. Some clichés work though and this is one. It segues quickly into the title track “Crush the Sublime Gods” and we are in 1987 once more. Think Nuclear Assault, Anthrax and DRI. With even a Mike Muir style vocal break! There are many , of a certain age, who will decry young bands playing like this, stating that while we can still listen to the classics why is there need to recreate the sounds. I am not one of those fuddy duddy frashers. These Swedes give it their all and whilst they are definitely paying homage to late 80’s crossover explosion, these guys are giving it enough of their own twist to make it sound fresh.
TeamxDeadX takes off sprinting like a nu skool zombie is chasing it down (I am still a Romero fan – lumber and lurch not sprint and kill). This track could have come straight off “How Will I laugh Tomorrow” and was a worthy winner of #Hit or Miss when I played it on the MattCave a couple of weeks back. On listening further I make this statement. When discussing this album Suicidal Tendencies are AC/DC and Dr Living Dead are Airbourne. OK. That’s it no more comparisons, it’s time to just immerse myself in the green goop radioactive waste.
“Eternal Darkness of the Fucked Up Mind” is as awesome as the title suggests. Chunky metallic riffs are added to the skatecore and there is a chorus that will definitely bear being chanted drunkenly in a sweaty club.
“Buck$” is next adding some politics to the chug. There is an old school mosh part which will make the most ardent pit warrior happy. “Civilized to Death” keeps the pace up with some Jeff Hanneman riffs within for this depiction of “suit and tie guys”.
A well earned breather next. “Another Life” slows things down a bit – but this is no ballad. Pure ST (I said no more comparisons but c’mon – wait til you hear it!).
If you have read this far you know whether or not you are going to enjoy this album. One thing that these guys have over Municipal Waste in my eyes is the vocals of Dr Mania which are much easier on my ears than the nasal twang of the Wasters. “Force Fed “ and “Scanners” mix more Slayer riffs in for the hell of it before an acoustic “ballad” Salvation which sounds so out of place that I enjoyed it like an intermission. I am still waiting for my wife to come in with an ice cream tray.
“No Way Out” is business as usual with even more hardcore in the mix. There is plenty of melody in here, very West Coast Epitaph sound. Love it. So many bands embraced the idea of crossover without evidencing where the crossover happened – as though it was not a mix of styles but just a preformed cookie cutter genre. “No Way Out” shows these boys know their oi oi oi onions.
“Triggerkiller” is an instrumental with purpose. That purpose is to get us to bang our fucking heads.
Which leads, sadly, to the final track. “Wake Up ….. Join the Dead” – you can almost hear Ed Repka unsheathing his felt tips eh? This track is a mix of slow heavy riffage and brain melting thrash passages which draws to a close with much fret wankery. It fits the feel of the album but I would have preferred more of what came before it. Never mind I am just gonna skip back for more mayhem.
A great album to make me miss my luscious locks. Dr Living Dead pay homage whilst carving their own niche in Thrash/Crossovers neon future.
(8.5/10 Matt Mason)
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