It is Monday, and the chaos has only begun. And since it is Monday we may as well go mathcore balls to the walls. Today we have the early stream of Rat Punch’s latest: It’s A Drink.
Having existed since at least 2014, Knoxville, TN’s Rat Punch is shaking down some noise today. Though known more for their singles and EPs, It’s A Drink is the first full-length from the wild bunch. For the uninitiated, think old The Number 12 Looks Like You or Sawtooth Grin. Something that’s very punky/hardcore and punchy but with that 2000s flair of jazz/grindcore. And if you know that stuff, you know what you are in for.
Opening with “Rat Dad In A Trash Can”, the band is off to a quick start. Oodles of chaos, blasting bits, and plenty of sass to throw around. And that sass is a real deal on here. Tracks like the following “Litter Kink” opens real metal like. Whammy bar guitar, some growling, and some metal licks are thrown in for good measure.
The whole production is very 80s hardcore sounding. Vocally, it even has some old Ceremony flair. The mix of these, the rawness of the record, really compliments what the band punches out. There are thrashier songs like “Turbo Octane Maximum Charge High Performance Traffic Jam” or “Snakies In The Grass.” But there are also total grinding chaos fests like “A Sour Caffeinated Blue Raspberry Alcoholic Seltzer.”
It’s A Drink is a fun slice of mathcore. And a further reminder of why this genre is so damn fun. The 80s hardcore/punk sound and the mathcore/mathgrind is a pact with the devil. It is good to see the mathcore genre is alive and kicking more and more. Give your Monday swift kick in the ass and stream this beast.
