When is a supergroup not a supergroup? I say it transcends that epithet when they have released their fourth killer album of grind infused hardcore punk!
For the uninitiated Venomous Concept is the brainchild of Shane Embury and Kevin Sharp on realizing in 2004 that they had never been in a band together and that they both loved Black Flag and Poison Idea. (Who doesn’t?). These two godfathers of Grind drafted in Danny Lilker and Buzz Osbourne and rounded it out with Shane’s Napalm brother Danny Herrera. Line up swirled and changed over the years due to “parent” band commitments but the band still managed to release an album every few years and splits with 324 and Blood Duster. Corrupt Moral Order’s John Cooke joined as a touring guitarist and these days he is a full-time part of the gang.
2016’s “Kick Me SIlly VCIII” saw VC blast back in hectic style and the album rocketed to the top of my fave list. The band went on tour with Brujeria to support the album which saw Shane playing two sets a night! Psycho.
OK history lesson over let’s live in the now. Politics versus the Erection is a vicious, seething, spike of punk taking aim at the year that appears to have been created by Zeus as a tragedy.
From the cover depicting the faces of MAD magazine’s mascot Alfred E Neuman melded with Donald J Trump it is obvious that VC have their opinions on the direction the world is taking.
The album is furious from the get go. Simian Flu sees Kevin Sharp erupting like he has been caged for the last 4 years and Shane’s bassline when it peaks out through the melee is simply delicious in its building levelling rumble. There is a n English voice joining Sharp – not sure if it John Cooke or Shane but it adds a great early UK thrashcore edge to things. A change in pace seems to split the song in two so it feels like a twofer.
The album continues at frantic pace through “Hole in the Ground” which even has a guitar solo from Mister Cooke – fired off at blistering pace like Fat John on crystal meth!
The album is full of chunky rhythms tussling with blasts and gnarly riffs that send shivers through the veins and make the limbs twitch like St Vitus dance. Lemonade – the first sneak peek track has a bassline that drags the band along trailing behind like water skiers behind a nuclear sub. There really is not a let up on this album even the “slower” numbers like Promise with its early 2000’s Converge feel and Sharp swapping the gravel for a slightly cleaner sound still hits like a shovel to the face. “Septic Mind” is a jerky spiteful track with a dark brooding air which is quite a change for these chaps – reminding me a little of Embury’s beloved Cardiacs. This continues on into “Dementia Degeneration” which flits between that style and full on punk blasts.
The anger and punk rock fury continues, boiling and frothing like a shark tank in feeding frenzy. The drums in “Carrion” threaten to tip the whole craft overboard with their thunderous penetration (ooh don’t google that at work!).
“Broken Teeth” is grind fury mixed with a brawling hardcore pit, limbs and spit everywhere, whilst “Shadows” has a disturbingly bleak feel to it with a couple of huuuuuuge breakdowns.
“Mantis Toboggan” is a batshit as the title suggests – insane grinding spazzcore of the finest 720 kick flipping into nose grind (I dunno?) order. It ends with a bizarre tinny transistor radio track about seagulls.
The title track sits like a wart on the arse of this album. It is a slow industrial, sample laden brooding track that serves as a metaphor for the situation many feel the world is in right now. Wading through a never-ending mire of bullshit from all sides which seeks to distinguish the flame of anger and rebellion.
Sometimes the young bucks need the old war horses to show them how to do things. There is plenty of lead left in the pencils of these angry lads. Another classic album of piss and vinegar flavoured bombast.
(9.5/10 Matt Mason)
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