American Slang - “Death Drive”
American Slang
Metalcore/Southern Hardcore/Rock
Members:
Rob Henriksen
Adam Bevel
Aaron Kubisak
Chris Prunotto
Tyler Grier
Hunter Borchardt
~Choice Cuts~
"There's Always a Faster Gun."
“The Old Razzle Dazzle.”
“Julius Seizure.”
“I Was Born A Snake Handler.”
“Self-Inflicted.”
After 2 years of playing shows in and around Chicagoland (as well as last year’s Gathering of the Juggalos [whoop whoop]) American Slang has severely and utterly stepped up their game with their recent full-length release, Death Drive. Death Drive combines a metalcore voice with a whiskey soaked southern swagger (ala Maylene & The Sons of Disaster, Every Time I Die,) the result being I no longer have a grip on my adult self. I got holes in my jean knees, this keyboard is soaked in yuengling, and I picked up smoking again.
Smoking...at my age? Jesus.
But I can’t get my head out of my ass or my ass out of this album. I feel like a sucker. In fairness to myself, this album is fully engrossing. The quick one two punch of “Holy Roller” and “The Old Razzle Dazzle” gets you really moving, only to fall swiftly in tempo (but not ferocity) with the bluesy “Julius Seizure”...but then they do me dirty again by launching right back into “There’s Always A Faster Gun,” an epic ride highlighted by crushing halftime breakdowns. Right when you think you’ve heard it all, “I Was Born A Snake Handler and I’ll Die A Snake Handler” and “Mission Accomplished” force a re-listen, with a slightly more progressive take on leash-free rock n’ roll. I take my big ol’ cowboy hat off to this group for their melodic inclinations, which again takes a forefront on “Sacrifice Zone.” The American Slang classic “The Best Damn Pet Shop In Town” wears this group’s influences on its sleeve and allows us to fully indulge in some hot bluesy guitar soloing, leaving only album closer “Self-Inflicted” to bring us home; oh baby and it does! A real big-kid no nonsense transition riff at around 2:25 is arguably the heaviest moment on the album, which is seemingly suspended in the air by contentious lyrics and one very fed up band.
I re-don my big hat to yet again REMOVE IT in regards to production; Chris Galvez (Mix/Production) Steve Carey (Mix), and Alan Douches (Master) tag-teamed this rager, and it sounds gritty and brilliant. See the goodies section for more info on these folks!
With Death Drive, American Slang states that they are here to stay, not to play (disclaimer; they did on the album.) Well, we heard ya’, you slick lawless freaks. This is how that Keith Buckley/Anthrax clustercuss should sound. Great album.
-ZP
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Production:
Chris Galvez (facebook)
Steve Carey
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