COKE BUST

Whether you considered yourself a punk or a metal head, there was a time during the 80s when the lines began to vanish, and a lot of that was due to one band; MINOR THREAT. You can point to others as well, whether it is BLACK FLAG or BAD BRAINS, but for many a skeptical metal head, MINOR THREAT sealed the deal. The purity of violence, the conviction in delivery, and that feeling that the whole damn thing would come apart at the seams because of the speed and recklessness of it could not be ignored. This was fast and mean. It certainly resonated with SLAYER, as defined by the style/sound of "Reign in Blood" and in the way of tribute on "Undisputed Attitude".

My point is that all of those same feelings came rushing back during the 23 quick killers of COKE BUST's "Lines in the Sand". This is the sound of lethality. Imitative? Perhaps, but devoid of anything resembling disingenuousness. Now digitally remastered, this is the expanded edition of 2009's "Lines in the Sand" and now includes bonus track from the "Fuck Bar Culture" EP, demo tracks, compilation cuts, and a couple of covers in YOUTH OF TODAY's "Slow Down" and THE FAITH's "It's Time". Racing down the tracks at impossible speeds with a vocalist that not only spits out staccato pattern craziness and seems to be frothing at the mouth whilst doing it, the tunes come with those dry buzz-saw riffs and one hell of a lot of angry dispositional fireworks. The proper LP tracks are of better recording quality and maybe, on the whole, a bit better written, but that's about it, as cohesiveness and consistency is never an issue on this baby.

It seems that far too much of what passes as "hardcore" these days is lacking the meanness and visceral qualities of the originators. Not COKE BUST. Have I mentioned that COKE BUST is a Washington, D.C. hardcore band? How perfect is that? They've done their hometown proud with "Lines in the Sand".