For Those About to Squawk: Waldo’s Pecks of the Week

ANTHRAX are back at it and because Worship Music wasn’t that bad, this bird brain had high hopes for the EP Anthems. Then I saw it was a covers EP. Oof. This thing stinks more than a pile of homeless people fighting over a bag of buttholes. You really want to hear a bunch of old dudes cover six classic rock songs and then tack one original on the end? Not I sir. Not I. these songs are staler than a comedy set by Carrot Top. So, yeah, if you want to hear inferior versions of AC/DC, Thin Lizzy, Journey, Rush, Cheap Trick and Boston, by ALL means pick this up. Or just do yourself a favor and punch yourself in the dick instead. 1 Fucking Peck.
KEN Mode, those oft-overlooked canucks, release the pre/post-whatever mindfuck of a meld that they create, and boy howdy is it a hellacious racket. I’ve always thought this band was underrated, and from the first blistering track to the last, Entrench proves to be a vicious ride through meanness. The production is spot-on here and really captures a lot of the band’s energy live. This is a heavy noise-rock clusterpeck that remains fresh and never seems to get derivative of the genre. I pecking love this thing.
8 Fucking Pecks.

INTER ARMA release Sky Burial, a Relapse debut for them, and this seems to be a mix of doom, black metal, psychedelic sludge and, well, I’m not too sure. This is reminiscent of Neurosis and Mastodon, there will no doubt be comparisons, but this does not come off as a clone. Pummeling walls of sound chaos envelop the listener and punish the senses. This is that kind of experience that a record should have” an all-out assault on the senses, meant to be both thought-provoking and nasty. Good work, guys: you achieved both.7 Fucking Pecks.

Want some Xover? IRON REAGAN release Worse Than Dead on A389. This is pure unadulterated fun. Just some good old-school thrash mixed with punk. Featuring members of Municipal Waste and Darkest Hour, how could it be bad? The one complaint is that this isn’t too far off from the Waste mold, and at times is a little indistinguishable from their counterpart. Even the production doesn’t sound all THAT different than the Waste. But hey, this is a good pecking record, so go get this. 7 Fucking Pecks.