Public Acid Deadly Struggle LP
PUBLIC ACID self-released a demo, a flexi, and even a mini-LP prior to their recent 7” which came out at Beach Impediment. Condemnation was so good—paired with their crushing live sets, it gave them momentum. Then La Vida Es Un Mus re-released their 12” four years after it initially came out, because it was so good that it needed another chance to reach attention. This proves that good music does not disappear; it might need some time for recognition, but it is worth sticking around (and self-releasing does not diminish the quality of your records). After Condemnation, they recruited a second guitar player, which triggered anticipation for a record to come out. It has arrived, and it destroys. It’s great because its energy and constant urgency elevate the record, even when they go into palm-muted death metal riffing territory. Do not worry! It’s chaotic and heavy, as a hardcore sort of meta, but it’s rather the extra feature of the record which is an ultra-tight, totally blasting riff overdose. Both the tempo and the wall-of-sound effect recalls ANTI-CIMEX but double the speed, amount, and density of those riffs, with tons of sweet distorted and screaming licks. Not in style but in the overwhelming energy of the record’s sound, they recall KRIEGSHÖG’s LP or IMPALERS’ Cellar Dweller. No mercy, just a constant buzzing stream of hardcore. They are clever with stops and twists, it’s not gimmicky and maintains the intensity. The sound is huge, everything can be heard but all the layers together give a great chaos. This chaos is a mix of meticulous songwriting that mirrors the love of hardcore, the obsession with noise and sick riffs, and playing as fucking hard as you can, and when you think something is brutal, then pushing it a bit further to be even more brutal. It’s one of those records that makes me want to run down to rehearsal—while I am excited to do my own thing, I can listen to this because this is for the listeners. I wish the members of PUBLIC ACID could enjoy this just as much as I do, because I’m sure it’s entertaining to perform these songs, but it’s so much fun to hear them, too. The cover looks like this was a bootleg of a basement demo death metal or powerviolence band, but the music transforms it, because it’s such an amazing record.