Casus Belli – “Punishment” 7-inch [FULL DOWNLOAD]
[Check out a BURLY, BURLAP-Y spread of every Amphetamine Reptile 7-inch release; yikes]
Amphetamine Reptile deny easy recognition and classification, but if you do go deep, you tend to go all out — there are no in-betweens.
The Research & Development series featured a ton of flat-out beautiful picture-disc 7-inches, of which I recently obtained three: parts 40, 49 and 52 featuring The Crows, Mama Tick and Casus Belli, respectively. It would be nice to imagine a world where I could own all the entries in the series (or at least the entries by my faves, including The Hedonists and Powers That Be), and that, of course, is not the case, so I’ll just be happy with what I have and even happier about what I do not. [tear-trickle immenent]
Mama Tick with suck the bitter blood from your bones with their Dinosaur Jr. leads and Bleach-era Nirvana parlor tricks. And is that a wah-wah I hear? Being used without a drip of irony? Yep, it’s definitely 1992.
Check the singer, too — he sounds like Kurt Cobain, almost exactly, to my ears, but back then he was just another dude banging two rocks together like the primate-infants most hard-rockin’ dudes are. That was the beauty of it: You could sound like someone else back then without answering the call of hundreds of bloggers wanting to call you THIS and THAT-THAT. It’s all shit — the press ruins everything (all except Gumshoe, you see; you see!?) and yadda-yadda …
The A Side is an odd, pungent brew, part just-turning-from-hardcore-to-metal Corrosion Of Conformity, part DiJu, part Fishbone, part Forced Entry (LOOK THEM UP before you make a face), part Shellac and part Snot; yep, I used to listen to a lot of lame bands, I guess …
The flip? This is more like it: “Hatefest” sounds like that infamous freakout on the hidden track of Nevermind (sadly not all copies have it; true junkie madness it is). Nothing too serious going on, save a slammin’ bass-fueled jam (maybe a little too much slappin’ there fella, but shucks, that’s alright) that presupposes the earliest inklings of Incubus, reminds of certain Suicidal Tendencies tunes and chugs harder than John Belushi at his tank-best. AWESOME! AWESOME! AWESOME! (And sorry for mentioning Incubus; if it makes you feel any better, I can guarantee the comparison will hold water if you delve into that shitty, funky-ass stuff I-bus were doing early on.)
Casas Belli represent an intriguing counterpoint. On one hand, they carry with them many of the traits one expects from an Amphetamine Reptile band — pounding bass, loud guitars; the works — but on the other there are odd layers suggesting the influence of Bauhaus and Joy Division. I never would have picked up on this myself in 1992, and many listeners undoubtedly missed this vital connection. That, however, doesn’t mean it’s not there.
Same with the vocals on “Bug Fights” — this is Factory-bred all the way, the pixelated vocals (which wouldn’t have been called pixelated in their day) a dead giveaway to anyone deep-in enough to know of Disco Inferno. Killing Joke-ish too, and there are tons of other precedents from other grunge labels that yield similar results. Hey, as I mentioned, a lotta folks were dabbling in heavy, loud music back then. Could it have been a golden age?
The Crows’ entries would be definite exhibits for the side arguing against the early ’90s as a golden era. Hokey, jokey, butt-poke-y; that is, until they give up the slow-motion rock-a-billy stance and go for a dose of hard-chargin’, ass-plowin’ rock. Soon enough it’s back to the thrillbilly bullshit and it’s like I’m listening to Tenderloin all over again (hey, I SAID I’ve listened to a lot of SHIT). Come to think of it, some of this resembles U.S. Maple. Not enough though; not enough. And whose leg do I have to hump to get a little more energy from the rhythm section? Jesus.
If it weren’t for “Low Brow” the Crows might have been a dull blade. “Brow” recovers nicely though, starting out with clean-plucked arpeggios and bracing for a penetrating bass riff straight out of a bluesmen’s playbook (or if it’s easier, think the bass riff from Pink Floyd‘s “Money”). It’s an instrumental too, so there’s less to love, more to cherish. Sigh.
If you see any of these beauties in the Used bin at ye olde record-hockin’ shop, by all means take a gander and purchase yeeself. There’s a whoooooole lotta fun to be had, ya sick sucker. Is that a big 10-4? (Yessuh.) Good.
That weird album cover with the alien doctor pulling the guts out of the baby was done by my uncle, Mike Etoll. I found a copy of the record in my mom’s dresser drawer and I was freaked out by it when I was younger. I slammed the drawer shut and ran away, but now when I see it, I like it…
hey, i was freaked out by motley crue’s “girls girls girls” cassette when i was 9; it happens. thanks so much for the comments!