Neighborhood Shit – “Neighborhood Shit”
Neighborhood Shit is a band that was told their name was too offensive to play big shows, but then they played downstairs at the Middle East.
Who gives a shit what a bands’ name is? How they look or what clothes they wear?
For Andy and I, it was always about the sound not the fashion.
And Neighborhood Shit is a band that sounds like metal colliding into hardcore with a punk attitudes’ distrust of society and institutions. They also sound like power violence smashing into doom, sludge slipping into hardcore. Death metal, hardcore and black metal voices- growling, ranting and screeching and showing- that we can all live together in the same song, if not yet in the same world.
What I’m trying to say is that- they take the best from the mess and leave the rest and bring it on home to make it their own.
They write shit about their neighborhood- full of passion, fury and disgust. And when I say shit, I don’t mean like bullshit. I mean like the real stuff, the truth about what goes down.
They’re against gentrification, people falling to the disease of drugs, and from a society that chooses to punish instead of heal. They’re young so they rail against the old, which they should as it’s obviously more than right, to do so.
They take the best of the traditional styles of hardcore, punk and metal and mix it up with influences from newer styles like grind, doom, and power violence, taking the best ingredients from all to form their own individual recipe. And then serve it up, heapin’ hot with generous dollops of energy, power, guts and realness.
What I’m trying to say is Neighborhood Shit is the shit!
You know what I’m saying?
After a few notes, “Smashism” comes smashing in a with a barrage of in your face, hardcore vocals along with a maelstrom of volume, speed and explosive music. This leads to a breakdown with some ska guitar chords that continues with the beginning four notes over a tank like explosion of energy, passion and grit. This is a great song that smashes all preconceptions away.
“I” is a vitriolic, angst fueled rant accompanied by rolling drums and threatening guitars. The middle part slows down without letting down in the intensity or anger. It ends with some great, doom encrusted, minor key chords. Another great tune.
“My War” erupts with two vocals answering each other, one that’s a growling, death/hardcore sound and the other a screeching, black metal voice. This is an extremely, energetic song that is extremely, intense and it’s also, extremely good. The drummer hits the snare on every beat just to beat the song along, like a racehorse, but it changes into a less frenzied pace, towards a headbangin’ part only to return to the previous mayhem and bloodshed. Sounds to me like they were, or will soon be victorious- but at least this song is.
Starting with a cool, dissonant chord change, “Cop Song” is a savage, spiteful complaint against certain police practices. This song pounds and blares away in an emotional demand for justice. It slows down, eventually, to a doom-y part before returning to its original intensity.
“Gates Of Heaven” is a slower, waltz number but is just as powerful and intense as previous numbers. With a neat, guitar line that evolves into an actual guitar solo! That is pretty great- just like the song.
“Bombs Away” starts out quietly with a moderate, funk beat layered with smoldering guitar and emotional, disillusioned vocals. “What are we fighting for. No bother asking why?” (We’re now 18 years in Afghanistan!) This song reminds me of the great, political, British punk/funk band Gang Of Four. The later part of this song moves into doom/sludge territory before accelerating with four, effective chords leading to a great finish. This song may be less explosive than the other songs but it may also be my favorite on the album.
I find a lot of bands that fall into the hardcore/metal style, like this band, a bit too restrained and slick at times.
This recording never falls into that trap. The songs are tight and well played but the passion, energy and emotion is not affected adversely, in fact, it’s bursting at the seems.
This album plays like if Black Flag continued and flourished over the years and this was their latest release.
And this was considered one of their best.
I love this band, I love the guys, but do you know what I love more?
It’s the music, the art they create and that they represent the anguish and anger of their generation- the pain, the disgust, the disillusionment with life and society that promises them gold but instead, delivers them a turd. A piece of shit, symbolizing the life they’ve been left to deal with, filled with the lies of religion, of government, of society.
But their music and art sees through this, it shines brightly through, their hearts and minds are not fooled by the atrocious garbage the old regurgitate their way.
And I’m more than certain that the young will win out, while the worst of the old will die in a festering pool of maggots, feeding upon their tired, putrid ways.
But this band, Neighborhood Shit is the shit! It’s the good shit!
You know what I’m saying?
(Slimedog)
