Sickness of Greed All That’s Before Us cassette
Some people like to muse about the meaning of life, sometimes because they believe chin-stroking makes them look profound or because they have just listened to too much emo music (the punk equivalent of being fanatically into French existentialist authors). I have no idea if SICKNESS OF GREED thinks hard about the meaning of life, but they certainly nailed the meaning of LIFE. The name of this Austin band comes from a song from the Tokyo crust masters, so it already provides the listener with heavy clues as to what to expect (or to fear, if you still listen to too much emocore). They also nicked the COLLAPSE SOCIETY logo for their banner in case you’re a bit slow. All That’s Before Us is the band’s first recording, and it showcases emphatically what they crave to achieve. The Japanese crust influence can be felt (BATTLE OF DISARM comes to mind), but can’t be said to prevail on these eleven songs. I am getting a big ’90s cavecrust vibe here, classics like ’92 DISRUPT and HIATUS or Tom Croft-era DOOM have been sent invites, and so have more confidential orchestras like SARCASM or SAUNA and some ’00s heroes like NUCLEAR DEATH TERROR or VISIONS OF WAR. This tape feels like an epic crust birthday party: you already know how much fun you’re gonna have and it doesn’t matter if it’s the same as last year’s. My only criticism has to do with some drumming parts that don’t really go well with the flow or sound a little offbeat. But then it’s a crust demo tape, so who expects seamlessness? Definitely up my alley.