Smash Potater - "Suburban Legends"
Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, 2019
Thrash/Crossover/Horror
Members:
Eddie Esquivel - Guitar/Vocals
Oscar "Couch" Ramirez - Guitar/vocals
Julian Walter - Bass
Allan Gonzalez - Drums/Vocals
~Choice Cuts~
“GMO.”
“Hook-Up Culture Club.”
“Too Old To Mosh.”
“Tragic School Bus.”
Aurora, Illinois; aka the second largest city in Illinois, aka the world of Wayne, aka birthplace of Don Bebbe, tractors of all shapes and sizes, and SMASH POTATER. If you aren’t personally familiar with this proverbial land of milk and honey, boy do I have some homework for you.
Recently signed to Horror Pain Gore Death Productions, Smash Potater released their second full length album “Suburban Legends” in late 2019, coming out of hiatus to deliver a collection of songs soaked in swaggering thrash/crossover proficiency. Originating in Aurora in 2010, the group compliments ferocious, rapid instrumentals with satirical, goofy lyrics, choosing to tackle “the morbid tales of life in their festering abscess of a town located in the side of Chicago.” “Suburban Legends” pulls no punches in terms of subject matter with tracks such as “Toxic Masculinity Holocuast” and “Diners, Drive-ins, and Drive-Bys,” and makes heavy use of both convicting and hilarious audio sampling. This use of audio sampling contributes heavily to the album’s strong sense of continuity, despite an often jarring willingness to divulge in more experimental riffage and composition (see “Ingles Sin Barreras/Los Angeles Azules Del Infierno,” “Flat Earth Crisis” and power-influenced “Keeper of the Seven Cheese, Chapter 1: Pizza Eagle.”) It is difficult to skip any tracks on this album, as Smash Potater remains fully rooted in thrash worship on “Nothing Else Splatters,” “Mom, I Swear It’s Not a Phase,” and “Confection Infection,” keeping this 18 song package at a brief 34 minutes. And if toxic horror crossover thrashcore is not really in your wheelhouse, allow me to direct you to trap-epic closer “Gravii,” where Smash Potater fully leans into their comedic attack by marrying “steak tartar” lines over “thick and rich like gravy” beats.
Boil ‘em, smash ‘em, stick ‘em in a stew; with Suburban Legends, Aurora’s Smash Potater shows us how to finely season a modern crossover album while maintaining a sense of humor and personality.
-ZP
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