There's nothing quite like an album that's pissed off. An album that is so dead set to kill that the first strikes of its chords are practically like bullet holes in the chest. One band that's been known to have murder in their eyes is Weekend Nachos. The aggressive purveyors of some of the best, most hateful modern albums are back with their newest beast Still.
Weekend Nachos is a band that tends to send people into extremes. Some think they're the antipathy of powerviolence while others see them as a badass band that represents the genre well. Hell, I even read one jagoff on a blog who claimed that the genre essentially died once these guys came into existence. Bullshit. Weekend Nachos is one of the best bands in existence today. Their previous albums Punish and Destroy, Unforgivable and Worthless have all proven that the band has massive energy, crushing breakdowns, excellent album flow, blazing blast beats, and some of the best lyrics of any band. Need proof? Look up “Unforgivable” and “Jock Powerviolence.”
Still is punk as hell. We need to get this out here now: those that are looking for a return to the sludgier sounding bits of Unforgivable and Punish and Destroy aren't going to find that here. Instead Weekend Nachos have built off what they established on Worthless. Listening to Still is like being beaten over the head with a brick repeatedly. And the band has become truly relentless on this remark. While breakdowns are still a prevalent factor they're handled with generally less length; “Watch You Suffer” and “Ignore” contain two of the longest breakdowns on the album. There's still a sludge appeal that pushes in many of the songs but the album hardly breaks the way songs like “Old Friends Don't Mean Shit” or “The Fine Art of Bullshit” (seeing a “shit” theme here) on, say, Worthless.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plQRupKi9yI[/youtube]
Still instead goes for a straight up 80's vibe. Song structures blast like they're going off the rails with the excellent riffage from guitarist Andy Nelson, bassist Drew Brown and drummer Brian Laude. Tracks like “Late Night Walks” are reminisce of Pick Your King-era Poison Idea with merciless aggression and reckless abandon. They're like a feeding frenzy of speed and end usually within a minute or two. The practically panic attack inducing “You're Not Punk” is quite possibly the masterstroke of the album melding both the old school vibe that the band has while keeping the feel of sludge in the breakdown.
John Hoffman's vocals come through with some clarity and without losing that vicious, absolutely pissed off edge. For the guy that penned “What the fuck do I owe this world besides misery and pain?” not an iota of that anger has subsided. Tracks like “S.C.A.B.” (or, “Some Cops Are Bastards”) call bullshit on people or bands writing about police brutality. The title track “Still” is about basically being lost in life. “Late Night Walks” is a ripping track about walking at night and not giving a flying fuck about what happens. I'm not dissecting the whole lyric sheet, but know that Hoffman's lyrics still wear very hungry boxing gloves.
Weekend Nachos have unleashed the caged animal before (or kraken if you need some over-sexed internet meme/lingo/whatever) but with Still they've released one that full on rabid. Still is an album that is off the wall with perfectly channeled anger. Those that really hold dear the days of Punish and Destroy (I know a few people that still do), may find Still to be a further departure from that sludgy, metallic sound that Weekend Nachos became known for, though I'd argue it's still plenty present here. Those that loved Worthless will find that Still only pushes forward the ferocity and crushing hatred the band has become known for. As Hoffman so perfectly states in the track “Yes Way,” “I'll fucking kill you,” know that to be true. Because Still will fucking kill you.
9.5/10
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46LsluBEaD0[/youtube]
