I remember a time when punk was something extreme, dirty and disgusting, not some paint-by-numbers, radio-friendly pop. I remember when hardcore was something powerful and meaningful, before it became a style of music for people to flex to. Punk is not Green Day, Good Charlotte or Sum 41. Hatebreed is not hardcore. I know it. You know it. So do Napalm Death’s Danny Herrera and Shane Embury, Brutal Truth’s Kevin Sharp and Melvins‘ Buzz Osbourne, and they aren’t willing to take it anymore! Venomous Concept is the old school hardcore/punk collaboration of the above mentioned underground superstars who unleash 16 tracks of fast, gritty, raw aggression on their debut full length Retroactive Abortion. There are no power hooks for muscle-bound meatheads to stomp around like The Bushwhackers or try their Bruce Lee moves on the floor. There are no sappy ballads to make 12 year old girls moist in their little panties. There’s just ferocious crusty punk, mixed with the hardcore stylings of old, bringing to mind classic bands like Discharge, Black Flag, Poison Idea, early Misfits and the like. The music is basically what you’d expect if you put these four in a room together, you can tell what tracks were written by Buzz and which were written by Shane just from their distinctive styles, with the occasional Melvins sound creeping through or a blast of Napalm Death of old. Kevin’s vocals are somewhat along the lines of what he did on Damaged’s Purified In Pain, only infinitely more pissed off and punk. The drumming is just an endless barrage of beats, basically exactly what you’d expect from 70s/80s punk/hardcore. The production is just as rough, raw and gritty, giving a definite old school feel. The music itself is pretty straight forward, without much variation. Some songs are killer and stand out among the rest with memorable riffs, but the majority of the 27 minutes of music are pretty unimpressive. This is a great album nostalgia-wise, but it is a little lacking substance-wise, but it’s still a decent release. It’s definitely the best thing in this style I’ve heard in more than 15 years, and is definitely worth picking up if you find yourself longing from the days of old, when punks were punk and hardcore was hardcore. It’s not groundbreaking, but it’s certainly refreshing and, at the very least, will help you rekindle your love of old school. Oi! Written By: Teufel