To Muthas on Mother's Day

HELLCHILD - Tribute Medley (1999)

Japan's Hellchild were thee epitome of "punk-metal" in the best sense of the term. That is, they combined the feral intensity of the former with the chunky, sophisticated riffing of the latter. You will not be subjected to anything remotely resembling that infernal screamo bullshit-- no floppy bangs, no warmed-over At the Gates riffs and most importantly, no "sensitive guy" born-without-a-dick lyrics. Although in this case the words are moot as this Big 10-inch Record is a collection of covers in homage to thee cocaine decade-- the 1980's.

As the title of this opus would imply, the tracks are strung together as a medley, all done up nicely in thee Hellchild style of inimitably biting geetar-maulin', tonsil-shreddin' grunts and a crushing rhythm section that'll slap yer worthless ass around with less mercy than a Hell's Angel on Seconal and cheap red wine. A big part of the fun is figgerin' out the sources. First cut "Speed Metal Hell," ... L'see I hear Whiplash, Exodus and Metallica-- but I ain't gonna spoil yer fun... check it out for your own damn selves. Ditto track 2, "Rock & Roll Motherfuckers": The Crüe's "Kickstart My Heart" and U2's "New Year's Day" make up the majority of this 11-minute trawl through songs ya wish ya'd forgotten, but there's other themes/riffs to be picked out by the astute among you. The final slab is a blistering reading of Thee Mighty G.I.S.M.'s "Shoot to Kill"... 'nuff said, methinks.

In comments-- then head over to Sector 2814 for their "Circulating Contradiction" LP.