Jesuseater Jesuseater

Having lived in or around Boston, Massachusetts most of my life, I get the feeling that the recent barrage of high-quality Beantown hardcore bands is giving the wrong impression of the scene out here. Swing by local hot spots like the Middle East Cafe in Cambridge or the Linwood Bar and Grille on most any Friday night, and you'll find that Boston is home to a ferocious brand of sweaty, stripped down, kick-ass rock. That said, a band like Jesuseater, though they hail from D.C., must feel right at home on the eclectic Boston-based Deathwish Records. "Longbail" kicks off this (tragically short) four song ep with a bang: A crunching, churning guitar riff the sounds like The Stooges on even more amphetamines, and a charging, straight ahead drumbeat - at this point you already know that Jesuseater is here to deliver some serious rock. Meanwhile, vocalist Shawn Brown (of Dag Nasty fame) spins a yarn of pure debauchery: "Passed out on the pavement/Is when he's at his best/Or crawling through the backyard/In his wife's new dress." The band slows to a thunderous half-time of powerhouse guitar and pummeling bass while Brown repeatedly screams "I'm gonna rip it out/I'm gonna cut it out/I'm gonna break you down" with maniacal, Rollins-like intensity. "All for Show" struck me as an immediate stand out, grooving along on a two-chord riff while the drums pound home a quick, sparse backbeat. The song jams along like a knuckleduster brawl between Motorhead (who keep trying to speed up) and AC/DC (who keep trying to slow down), while the vocals howl another Rollins-y strain: "And I want it back/and I need it back/You fucking suck the life from me." The chorus jumps out with a catchy, melodic (but still utterly savage) chord progression that contrasts nicely from the rest of the song, a technique often employed by Bostonians Quintaine Americana. From there the band degenerates into a garage-y build-up, as if to take a quick breather before driving the rest of the song down your throat. The sound on this EP is great for the style Jesuseater plays. The guitars are big and massively overdriven - you can almost hear the smoke getting blown of the hard-laboring amplifiers. The bass is nearly subsonic, and adds some serious weight to the guitars, which it doubles consistently throughout the CD. The drums are big, natural, and roomy. My only complaint is the mix - naturally the guitar is super loud, which normally is a damn good thing in my book, but the bass is nearly inaudible, and it's a struggle to make out the lyrics. Bottom Line: Jesuseater kicks, plain and simple. No "melodic mosh metal" or "chaos-core" here. Just a dozen minutes of engulfing rock that sounds like hardcore kids playing stoner rock and upping the tempo. Perfect music for: lifting weights, warming up your Camaro, growing a ratty mustache, or moving in to your Mom's basement.