REVIEW: Severed Head Of State

Since I plan on turning this into an actual print zine this summer, I figure I might as well post some reviews of records I've stumbled across in the past few months. This is my first shot at reviewing records on a constant basis. Hopefully I can stick with it!

-Ryan


Severed Head Of State - Power Hazard 12" EP (Havoc Records)



Severed Head Of State is back after two years, and they're shredding harder then ever! From the opening of "Death's Marionette" to the closer "This Final Scene...", SHOS blazes through 9 d-beat-esque ragers that sound similar to Lycanthro Punk-era Wolfpack. As per usual with SHOS, this release sounds like the polar opposite of it's predecessor (In this case I'm speaking of 2003's "Anathema Device" LP on Hardcore Holocaust) to keep things fresh. Now I know what many of you are thinking, "OMGZ WHEN MY FAVORITE BANDZ CHANGE STYLES THAT MUST MEANS TEY SOLD OUTZZZ!!!". No. This is not the case. Personally I think this record sounds better than Anathema Device, but that may just be me. I love Jack Control's Poison Idea type vocals layered on top of the insane drumming and the blistering basslines. It's kinda like throwing all the best bands from hardcore, d-beat, and punk into a blender and hoping that shit turns out alright. In this case it did, and this will probably become one of my favorite records of 2007. Chalk up another rager from Havoc!

($10ppd/Havoc Records/P.O. Box 8585/Minneapolis, MN 55408/www.havocrex.com)