Reviews

RilRec

Briefbombe Deutsche Pest EP

The BLACK FLAG font on the cover had me dreading the first listen. I get a homage, but I see it used so often that it feels overplayed and unoriginal. It just feels kind of cheap, ya know? Are we so starved for fresh ideas that we must reuse and rehash the past? As much as I loathe the cover art, the music fuckin’ rips. It’s as angry, fast, and as pissed-off as the stuff our forebears were releasing 40-plus years ago, but it’s a different animal entirely. BRIEFBOMBE brings the riffs, and they do it with a fury. The songs are quick and meaty, packed with tight riffs and over-the-top drum fills. The vocals are intense and sung entirely in what I presume to be German. I can’t understand a word they are screaming, but the intensity in which it is delivered leaves no question that they mean every word. Cool stuff.

Marode Risse LP

Based in Düsseldorf, MARONE hits us with fourteen snappy tracks on their debut LP. This record is a bleak and uncomplicated take on a classic ’90s melodic hardcore approach. With lyrics sung in German, It’s something like an emo cousin to fellow Deutschländers WIZO who had records out on Fat Wreck back in the day, with a similarly polished and upbeat sound but a darker and more organic mood (if you’re into that sort of thing).