The Butcher Mass Destruction Manual

For those who haven’t heard The Butcher yet, you’re in for a treat. And while this is already the band’s third release, I didn’t even hear about these Dutch rock stars until fairly recently. The Gangstyle website touts the band as “fast paced hardcore which blends some early punk influences too, giving it a raw early 80's feel,” adding that “[The Butcher] brings with it all the finesse and grace of a steamroller.” After listening to this album a number of times in various moods and settings, I’d certainly have to agree with their statements; The Butcher is no-frills hardcore that isn’t afraid to throw in a good dose of humour and humility into their sound. It seems that no matter when or where I played this album, I couldn’t help but feel more cheerful in the “let’s not give a fuck, let’s just kick some ass” sense of the word. Personally, I don’t think it’s too difficult to figure out why “Mass Destruction Manual” sounds so great: just mix funny, sometimes over-the-top lyrics with a quick-paced, tough sound. Sounds simple, right Well, that it may be, but I think this winning combination works so well right now is partially due to the fact that there are way too many pretentious and overly serious bands out there, so muchs that The Butcher, despite working within a genre that’s been around for a long while, feels like a breath of fresh air. Furthermore, while the guys in The Butcher celebrate the more “pleasurable” aspects of life, they still manage to keep their music serious enough as to not be written off as a joke band that’s merely interested in getting drunk and having a brawl. With song titles such as “Officer Porkchop,” “Ketchup is King,” and “M.O.S.H” that may be a bit hard to believe, but sometimes it’s nice to hear a singer belt out lyrics like “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I got Gilles de la Tourette / Fuck, cunt, bitch, ass, dick, dick, dickhead / I’m in a lot of trouble, is what I seem to get / ‘Cause I got this disease called Gilles de la Tourette” rather than some sorry lamentations on the deep and dark state of the singer’s emotions. Production-wise, this album is excellent. The gang vocals and back-ups are never toned down, the singer’s gruff (and coherent) voice blends in very nicely with the rest of the instruments, and the whole effort is super clean. I also have to mention that the guitar, bass, and drum work on “Mass Destruction Manual” is really superb. Nothing’s worse it seems than sloppy riffs and beats that mush together when a band attempts to play as fast and constant as possible, but The Butcher have no problem keeping everything together and crisp. I also have to mention the layout, which has more gore than a lot of death metal albums. Some pretty spooky shit if you ask me (in an excessive Halloween-gore kind of way…), but all in good taste, I suppose. Bottom Line: Take a bit of old Agnostic Front and mix it with some Tear It Up/Crispus Attucks style skate thrash and you’ll pretty much end up with The Butcher. Not only is “Mass Destruction Manual” a catchy listen, it’s funny as hell – sure to get you in a good mood whenever you’re feeling a bit blue.