The Slow Death

Punishers

Written by: PP on 05/11/2017 16:08:24

"Punishers" is the third full-length and follow-up to 2013's excellent underground cult hit "No Heaven" by The Slow Death from Minneapolis, which features Mikey Erg and Dillinger Four members among others in their lineup. They specialize in the same kind of no-frills Midwestern punk as Off With Their Heads to an extent where it's perfectly fair to call them essentially a clone of the genre masterminds. A song like "Overrated", for example, is almost note-by-note Off With Their Heads song from its rowdy vocal rhythm to its big shout-along choruses and the upbeat tempo.

And does that matter? Not really. If you're a fan of no-frills punk you'll already happily consume albums upon albums of Banner Pilot basically playing the same song in a slightly different chord progression, and that's also the case here, so no problem if you're a fan to start out with. The roared vocals are charming and help create a buzzing, vibrant energy for the songs, that range from mid-tempo bangers like "Picking You Up" to high-speed punk rock onslaughts like opener "Central Air". It's super catchy all the way through, so it honestly doesn't matter that it references a ton of bands in the process. Like Deforesters? Superb, this is right up your alley. What about MakeWar, Red City Radio, Bathurst, et al? Right on, The Slow Death is for you, because despite eerie similarities to so many other bands, there's something about the roared, roughened vocals over rollicking Midwestern punk melodies that ring just the right way, which makes you feel right at home. That's probably why you attend or wish you could attend FEST each and every year, right?

"Punishers" is, therefore, a worthy successor to "No Heaven". It's all about upbeat punk rock with a production that leaves the guitars ringing nicely without too much polish. It's high in energy, plentiful in shout-along choruses, and has enough tempo to get your head bobbing and the circle pits moving at live environments. In other words, it is exactly how you want your Midwestern punk to sound like: no experiments, just straight up fun and beer-fueled sing-alongs.

Download: Central Air, Picking You Up, Overrated
For the fans of: Off With Their Heads, Deforesters, MakeWar, Red City Radio, Banner Pilot
Listen: Facebook

Release date 07.07.2017
Rad Girlfriend Records

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