Deletär Violence 12″
An even sharper blast of ten TOTALITÄR-inspired D-beatings than this St. Etienne band’s great debut 7″ EP. There’s enough flourish, stops ’n’ starts and innovation around the margins of the straight ahead that the sturdy pummel of DEATHREAT might also be a point of reference, but by the last track of side A they’re dropping an epic guitar intro reminiscent of JUDGEMENT, so a lot of things mix outside of the template of grade-A Svensk-style käng stomping this band has down. Compared to the 7″, there’s less room noise and more focus in the recording to simmer up the strength of the actual songs—great to-the-point hardcore bursts with vocal chords stretching into depths of RIPCORD-ish growl, barking in French. There’s no translation (or sadly, even TOTALITÄR-esque explanations in English) but a quick scan through translation seems pretty basic resistance and struggle. The artwork, while cool, also checks that box of definably punk without a definably direct statement. A remarkably solid, blazing record at 45 RPM with memorable riffs and pointed impact! Killer!