Weekend Nachos, Still

Call it grindcore. Call it powerviolence. I call it angry-as-fuck. Weekend Nachos may have one of the more unique names in metal, but their reputation far outweighs whatever nonsense they may have conjured as youngsters. Four studio albums in and the guys are still just as pissed as ever. The opening salvo of barks and reverb on the first track of Still are only the tip of this spiteful iceberg.

Unless you’ve got some serious gamma radiation issues like The Hulk, you know that it’s hard to stay angry for an extended period of time, especially as we all get older and wiser and all that shit. The exuberance of youth usually lasts but so long. Still, for those of use with your above average level of angst, there are plenty of topics to hone in on. And that’s exactly what Weekend Nachos have done with Still.

Part grind, part powerviolence, part punk and part hardcore, each track on this 12 song beast is a vicious right hook to the side of your cranium. As stated earlier, the sub-one-minute album opener has a bit more of a hardcore vibe before the guys descend into a rapidly worsening maelstrom for the meaty middle of this short song. “No Idols and No Heroes” is a dense track with layered growls and shouts as sludgy textures permeate the air. Lead man John Hoffman commands your attention throughout the album with his snarling barks, shrieks and guttural growls — all in complete balanced with the ripping guitars, rabid drums and rolling bass lines.

“Watch You Suffer” along with the title track are the two longest songs on the album, both stretching beyond three minutes in length, easily eclipsing the next longest by a full minute. Most songs like the absolutely bludgeoning “Satan Sucker” don’t creep too far past a minute and a half. The previously mentioned “Watch You Suffer” also sees the band slow things down a good deal — massive, sludgy riffs, dissonant guitar noise all work to the band’s advantage here — without ever really losing any sort of power or impact.

Other standout moments include the ebb and flow of “Wolves,” the explosion that is “You’re Not Punk,” and the absolute viciousness of “Yes Way” and it’s massive slabs of breakdown crumbling riffs that wrap it up. All in all, Still is as powerful and as short-lived an album of this nature should be. It hits hard and heavy with a frenzied blast before slobberknocking you with a heaping pile of sludgy riffs. Weekend Nachos may not be kids anymore, but they certainly haven’t lost any of their fury.