Deny The Cross

Alpha Ghoul

Lactose tolerant
dB rating: 8/10

Release Date: July 29, 2016
Label: Tankcrimes

Even if you love Spazz, you probably don’t think of the individual members as, like, instrumental stylists. Chalk up their appeal to a delightful cocktail of ultimate burly fastcore, goofy humor and weirdo samples/instrumentation mixed up by those three guys. (And if you don’t love them, what’s your problem? Do you not read our Hall of Fame stories? La Revancha is certified.) But listen to the very end of Alpha Ghoul opener “Heart Like Siberia,” the quick, ascending 123! 123! riff that nails the song shut. That is 100 percent a Dan Lactose guitar part, and that’s awesome to hear on a 2016 release.

All these songs are 30 seconds long, so we don’t have time to dick around here: Deny the Cross is Lactose; Dave Witte, so you know the blasts are tight; Witte’s former Black Army Jacket bandmate Carlos Ramirez on vox; and Ramon Salcido from Agents of Satan on bass. BAJ is the major reference point, especially when they make brief detours from unrestrained grind into NYHC-style riffing; there’s even a sequel to BAJ’s “U68” on here, but probably no one is gonna know what I’m talking about. Vocals are ill, sometimes verging on black metal. MAJOR THEMES: Religion/racist, murderous pigs/our homophobic culture/the constant anxiety of life = bad; Pushead skulls/thrash metal = very good. IS THERE MITB-STYLE BASS NOODLING TO MAKE THIS A REAL POWERVIOLENCE RECORD Y/N: You fuckin’ know there is (“Daymare,” “Blast Pound Strafe Stab Kill”).

— Anthony Bartkewicz
This review taken from the October 2016 issue.