Drunken Bastards, Horns of the Wasted

Shortly after the recording of Horns of the Wasted (the band’s second full-length), founding member and guitarist Pete Fire was diagnosed with cancer. So, while he’s going through the rigors of chemotherapy, you’ve got eight songs of putrid thrash to spin in his honor.

That said, Drunken Bastards have unleashed a pretty solid slab of gutter and alcohol fueled thrash that’s as raw and uncompromising as you can get. Chugging, barbaric riffs combine with rumbling drums and a frenzied, slurred vocal belching of sorts to bring the band’s message of Satan and alcohol to the masses.

At times messy and disjointed the band still manages to pull it together long enough to clobber you over the head with empty whiskey bottles and shackle you naked and inverted to the facade of the nearest holy establishment. Why? Well, one, because they can. And two, because they really don’t seem to give a shit about that Jesus dude. Which all works out perfectly for you, doesn’t it?

Well, except for the upside down naked shit.

Before I get into the track-by-track breakdown, I should probably note that just about every track on this disc has appeared on a variety of splits and earlier releases from the band — these are all re-recordings of those songs. But since I haven’t heard any of the band’s past discs, we’ll continue like this is all new.

Nuclear Era
Man, the sound byte that fills this first track is freakin’ bizarre, but I suppose it is a pretty good indication of what sort of sickness you can expect throughout the rest of the album.

Toxic Patrol
The first real song on the disc is full of thick, burly and vicious thrash served on dirty and raw. The song itself is pretty straightforward, but destroys nonetheless. I do enjoy the gang vocals after the two minute mark that leads into a nice little lead.

Posercrusher
“Posercrusher” has a decent chugging groove permeating it’s dense sound. The vocals are a bit muddled and distant, but that only proves to work in the song’s favor. Again, the gang vocals are a nice addition to the song. I love the last 30 seconds or so of the song — it’s pretty damned infectious.

Destroy The Factory (Eat My Fuk)
This next track has a bit more of an open feel to it compared to the previous two songs. It’s no less violent, but it’s more in the same vein as another band, that I, for the life of me, can’t quite place. It’s got a sound that’s very familiar sounding, especially during the chorus. Either way, it’s a damned fine example of an old school thrash anthem.

Drink With Satan
“Drink With Satan” sounds like it could end up in a hell of a night. As far as the song is concerned, it’s a high energy, thrashing bit of mayhem complete with catchy guitar work, gang shouts and meaty drum work. I dig it.

Alcoholic Big Tits
A head banging groove flows through this next song as some catchy guitar work and pummeling drums carry the nearly unintelligible shouts and utterances. Man, this one is right out of the gutter and ready to beat you senseless for what little change you have in your pockets. At 1:51 in length, “Alcoholic Big Tits” is the shortest song on the disc, but also has some of the more interesting leads.

Baptized In Speed And Blood
I love the opening riff that’s accompanied by some rumbling bass lines before the rest of the guys get into the mix. The song gets off to a bit of a slow start, but eventually ramps up the frenetic energy and vehemence nicely through the latter half of the track.

Prophecy Of The Evening Star (Barbatos)
This is probably the most structured song on the album, even though leads pop up here and there from out of seemingly nowhere. It’s a fun, raucous song that should probably be played as loudly as possible and as late into the night as possible.

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Additional Notes:
n/a