DRILLER KILLER

There is plenty of good news to go around in the Osmose, Crimes Against Humanity, and DRILLER KILLER camps. Perhaps the best news is that Osmose has licensed the DRILLER KILLER catalogue ("Fuck the World", "Reality Bites", "Cold, Cheap, and Disconnected", etc) to Wisconsin's Crimes Against Humanity for North American release, and that includes last year's "The 4Q Mangrenade". Add to that a split release from Osmose by DRILLER KILLER and EXTREME NOISE TERROR and everything is coming up wine, roses, and crust. Though not a "new" release in the worldwide sense, "The 4Q Handgrenade" was made available stateside through CAH Records in January, allowing fans on this side of the Atlantic to pick it up without paying import prices. As such, a review of the Swedish crustcore kings' latest full-length platter seems most appropriate.

Sound-wise, "The 4Q Mangrenade" is no major departure from the style heard on albums like "Cold, Cheap, and Disconnected", but that does not mean it is a clone either. While not a band to progress a great deal, the DRILLER KILLER style is continually tweaked just enough on each album to keep the sound relatively fresh without abandoning the furious crust punk/hardcore attack. The approach continues to be as subtle as a battering ram. The chainsaw riffing is still ferocious, the bass licks (and tone) are gnarly and very active (check out "State of the Narc" for a prime example),and Cliff's phlegmy bark vocals (with a hint of Barney Greenway) are as commanding as ever. Plenty of prototypical speeding crust punk is found on tracks like "Nailgundown", the metal-edged "State of the Narc", and "Ugliness Formula One". And if it is an all-out DK slammer that you want, then check out "The Fast The Fucked The Furious" or "The Fuckhumangrenade". Mixing things up just a tad, "Nightmarathon" has a kind of punked up swing to it with super cool riffing that gets you off your ass and moving (here again, the rumbling bass sounds great). "Today of the Dead" is actually quite tuneful, though just as nasty and unrelenting as the rest.

You will find nothing to complain about on "The 4Q Mangrenade". It is Swedish crustcore at its finest. This is not about redefining the style or becoming a different kind of band. This is about crusty, riotous punk and hardcore violence. DRILLER KILLER doesn't fuck around; the "The 4Q Mangrenade" is ample proof. Check out the affordable prices for the entire DRILLER KILLER discography at www.cahrecords.com.