Poison Tribe Allie Sessions demo cassette
At least the band picked a good name, which is always a nice first impression. POISON TRIBE comes from Denver, and from what I can tell, they are a relatively new band, as Allie Sessions is their second demo tape. Let me warn you that the sound is definitely raw and primal on this recording, which certainly doesn’t bother me (quite the contrary). Let’s just say that it genuinely sounds like a demo, not those fancy demos that get reissued on vinyl—no, the real no-arsing-around kind, warts and all. I have no idea if the people in the band have been active for long in our glorious punk scene (a polite way to inquire about how ancient they are), but I detect a sensible early ’00s political punk feel on this demo, from back when George W. Bush was thought to be the biggest villain the US of A would ever have. I enjoy this tape, more than I thought I would. As mentioned, it conveys the vibe that was so prevalent in North American ’00s crusty political hardcore, not dissimilar to California bands like AGAINST//EMPIRE, DISSYSTEMA, HOLOKAUST, or the mighty ARMISTICE though they started in the ’90s (POISON TRIBE has similar crunchy metallic breaks). For some reason, I am also reminded of a less Eurocrust SILNA WOLA—clearly a compliment in this quarter—but that could be because of the vocals that take a bit of time to get used to. This recording, although cruder than the first one, is a clear improvement in my book, and I am curious to see what POISON TRIBE could achieve with a more cohesive story to tell on an EP.