Some Kind of Hate: Scavenger of Death, Enoch Ramone, and Strategic War Heads usher in 2016
Atlanta punk's opening salvo for 2016 was a potent one, unleashing new cuts by Enoch Ramone and Strategic War Heads.
Mercenary: Atlanta's Burning cassette (Scavenger of Death)
Scavenger of Death has made the remaining copies of Mercenary’s final cassette available via the label’s online shop. The local hardcore band broke a lengthy hiatus last summer to perform at guitarist Jesse Lipper’s Atlanta’s Burning festival — the final set doubled as a tape release celebration. Chances of another “final show” are slim, as Lipper and singer Michael “Ruby” Rubenstein have both relocated to different parts of the world since then, so grabbing one of the remaining copies might be your last chance to revisit the Bukkake Boys’ sonic offspring.
Best of all, the hanging Klansman cover art revisits the best t-shirt art from a local band in recent memory—talk about pissing off all the right people.
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Enoch Ramone and the Ebola Boys: ER+EB Jr.Esq.III demo
Enoch Ramone (Avery Cottrell) and the boys’ first set of recordings is what the gas station owner in The Jerk might call a “masterpiece of understatement.” Cottrell and his veteran backing band — guitarist Matt McCalvin (Paralyzer), drummer Tyler Kinney (Dinos Boys, Shocked Minds), and bassist Mike Koechlin (Predator, GHB) — make punk gross and juvenile again on cuts such as “Penile Abortion” and “Human Bug.” Comparing them to Jabbers era G.G. Allin feels a bit lazy, but it fits. After all, this ragtag bunch often plays “Don’t Talk to Me” live, and Allin had his own brief run as an Atlanta punk.
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Strategic War Heads: (U.S.) War Head recordings
A second set of Strategic War Heads recordings surfaced on YouTube around Christmas time — a dozen more tracks of politically-fueled grindcore. Singer Dan Deckebach (MTN ISL), bassist Rob Sarabia (Mutual Jerk), guitarist Aaron Anderson (Ralph), and drummer Ryan Fetter (Waste Layer) plow through 12 tracks that mix slicker versions of earlier demos with bluntly titled new cuts such as “Fox News Fuck Heads.” According to Sarabia, these recordings will appear on cassette soon and will also be on the band's debut 7-inch later in the year.
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Gary Wrong Group: Away in Heathen Darkness 12-inch (Scavenger of Death)
The year’s first solid example of mutant punk with no discernible boundaries emanates from Alabama, not Australia or the American Midwest. That’s the home state of Gary Wrong, who collaborated with fellow Southern punk mainstays Benny Divine (Natural Child) and Quintron for a four-song 12-inch EP, issued Jan. 2 by Scavenger of Death. The record’s use of synths and other electronic elements paints an ominous setting for Gary Wrong's disparate range of emotions — fear, desperation, and social satire.
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Some Kind of Hate is a collection of punk, metal, garage, and hardcore cuts released by bands or labels practicing their craft in and around Atlanta. The previous installment can be read here. Submissions are accepted via email.
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