G&P Review: This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2

This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2
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Let me get my one complaint about Scott Hull’s latest retro comp grindfest out of the way first. Where the first volume reveled in the first new recorded music from Brutal Truth in a decade and the hey-look-at-that-they’re-still-alive-ness of Agents of Satan, by and large, the first comp was an awesome collection of up and comers that probably gave the wider world their first good look at the next wave of young grind. So, I’m rather disappointed to see the second volume is nearly half filled with reunited bands old enough to have appeared on the original Cry Now, Cry Later and Bllleeeeaaauuurrrrggaaah! comps this is aping. The effect threatens to turn This Comp Kills Fascists Vol. 2 into story hour at the local VFW as grizzled geezers rehash their salad days. The tracks from defunct pre-Mastodon grinders Social Infestation are from 2002, ferchrissakes.
But enough bitching, Vol. 2 packs 50 percent more grind and power violence than its predecessor and it’s still a vital link to a rash of new bands worth hearing.
The belles of the ball are easily Noisear who are at once speedy and engrossing, finally stepping out from under the shadow of Discordance Axis to become something that is at once technical, cathartic and wholly their own.
Triac are also raucous and rough and tumble while finally hearing Hummingbird of Death’s lofi ruckus, I get what everyone’s been raving about. Give Slovakians Idiots Parade a few more years and I could see them gunning for Suffering Mind’s championship belt. Drugs of Faith rehash “An Ode to Those Unwed” from their self titled EP and give us a new track, “Loss of Credibility,” that bodes well for their pending full length. Thrash masters Population Reduction should roam the streets of Tinseltown forcibly tattooing the title of “Real Zombies Don’t Run” on assorted Hollywood execs’ noggin. Marion Barry sound like Apartment 213 clones and Apartment 213 sound a lot like Apartment 213 as well. Septic Surge’s noise holocaust is exquisite, combining classic Agoraphobic Nosebleed with weed drenched Man is the Bastard.
Though I’m calling bullshit on the lack of swastika cock-spewing Obamas in the art, I am happy to say the addition of Voetsek and Despise You add a welcome dose of estrogen to what had previously been largely a boys only club (Spoonful of Vicodin excepted).
To try to single out a song or two to give you a taste of this one would be futile, so I’m just going to turn it over to Deathgrindfreak who’s already agreed to share his copy with the world.
[Full disclosure: Population Reduction kindly provided me with a review copy.]