A welcome re-release of sorts for this 2004 split album, featuring one band who are now defunct (Puget Sound) alongside re-recordings by Kidd Blunt of the tracks originally featured. Odd, maybe, but why ever not?
In fact the bands make a comely couple, both masters of hardcore punk metal, often bringing a level of musical invention rare in the genre. Both supply four tracks, with Puget Sound up first. Their 9/11-inspired opener ‘Beneviolence’ (sic) thunders in with lots of manic energy and an arrangement that's anything but predictable. ‘You’re Guilt’ and ‘Progress Is Slow’ bubble and boil with frenetic energy, not letting up for more than a few subtle bars here and there to remind you that there are brains as well as muscles at work. Sadly, the Sound broke up in 2006, perhaps a bit too early to benefit from the resurgence of noisy guitar music.
The lyrical focus of Puget Sound was light years ahead of Wicklow-born Kidd Blunt, whose words on the page often make little sense, but the latter approach their duties with the same relentless commitment they apply to their gigging. The snarling fury of ‘Dr. Hughes Is Off The Booze’ leans more towards their punk origins, with terrific interplay between bass and drums. ‘Peprose Follows’ thrashes and writhes, with driving guitars to the fore, while the rambunctious ‘Midnight Juice’ races towards oblivion at a deathly pace. Generally, though, I’d prefer to hear vocalist Turlough higher in the mix.
At a mere 29 minutes, this CD hardly overdoes it in quantity terms, but for once maybe the quality argument wins out.