Obliterations

Poison Everything 

Southern Lord 2014

So Cal's punk/hardcore/crust/everything quartet, Obliterations, are destroying boundaries and comfort zones and everything else with their Southern Lord debut, Poison Everything.  Imagine if you will, taking Discharge and making it a Rock N Roll band and then you would have some sort of semblance of what Obliterations sounds like.  Mind Ain't Right bursts immediately with raucous bouts of reverb and savage, battering riffs.  The vocals are acidic screams that burn through your eardrums before the track drops into a catchy rhythm only to explode again into punk-infused chaos.  A total punk bass line announces The One That Got Away.  The song is a full-ahead charging groove of bombastic punk.  Wailing rock solos speed in from the periphery while the song takes on a bit of an Accused-esque meatiness.  The Narcissist is fueled by an undeterring Discharge-ish main riff with rock undertones.  A bit of a stoner rock groove rolls out of the midtempo muscles of the title-track which plods on with monstrous determination and beefy guitars.  Straight up punk rock, heavy on the rock, is featured on Head Wound.  The main riff is catchy and the vocals are noisy to the right degree.  Scapegoat once again really gravitates to a Discharge style with its nihilist punk riffs.  However that does nothing to prepare you for the slow, sludgy crush of Shame.  Taking things even slower is Open Casket.  It is coiled like a serpent, slowly unwinding into ashen riffs of total sludge that coats your eardrums like oily tar and leaves your mind battered and bruised.  Galloping violence and spirited disdain coat The Middle Of The End like a fresh layer of paint.  While not my favorite thing that Southern Lord has released in the recent past, this is still a fun listen certainly grabs my attention.  If you like rocked out metallic punk, then Obliterations is for YOU!