Reviews

Panic Inc.

Life’s Torment An Abomination of Collective Ideologies EP

Lots going on here with LIFE’S TORMENT, a self-described “grind-punk/sk8 violence/fastcore” unit from Vegas. Dual vocals belt out anti-facist lyrics amidst buzzing riffs, blastbeats, and breakdowns. I don’t really have any complaints—on paper this all sounds pretty good, and in practice, it does, too. That said, by the end I felt exhausted by this EP; maybe best served in smaller doses.

Life’s Torment / Merked Regurgitated Misinformation / Life Wants You Dead split EP

LIFE’S TORMENT is out of Las Vegas, and their dual-vocal delivery reminds me of CIRCLE TAKES THE SQUARE, but way more punk (is that possible?). MERKED out of San Jose is a three-piece that plays hardcore that drifts from what sounds like COMBAT WOUNDED VETERAN to beatdown to youth crew in a single volley. If this split had arrived in the early ’00s, there’s no doubt in my mind this would have been a top listen. Yeah, it’s a chaotic trip, and yes it’s noisy, it’s these qualities that make it fun.