Pristina, Boner Jams '07 (The Harpooned Heart)

I’ve got to tell you. I’d just about be the fan of any band that had the word “boner” in their album title. My brain is just too sophomoric not to at least giggle at it. Besides a few sound clips, there’s nothing sophomoric about the music contained on this disc.

Featuring former members of 100 DEMONS, A THOUSAND FALLING SKIES, INVOCATION OF NEHEK and DRY KILL LOGIC, PRISTINA was originally created as a side project. It has since built itself into this monster of doom, crushing riffs, and odd ball sound clips from the likes of Ghostbusters 2 (what up Vigo). This release is serious for the most part, but there is plenty here that’s just all in your face fun and good times.

Aside from the randomness of the first track — it contains a monotonous chugging riff, softly spoken chorus, sound clips, guttural growls and a bit more — this album is for the most part caustic and terrifyingly enjoyable. “Vicodin Song” is one of the heavier tracks with tortured screams and straight-from-the-bowels-of-hell growls. I love the thick and crusty bassline that threads its way through the track.

“13”, the shortest track on the album, is also one of the quicker paced ones. It’s got plenty of screaming, death metal growls and some hardcore styled spoken vocals and shouts. It’s an interesting combination of vocal presentation that makes it a standout track. We can’t forget “Fucking Destroyer”, “Lilith’s Severed Head”, and “Trenches and Dogfaces” — all of which have this CONVERGE blended with COALESCE chaotic din smothering everything.

The mixture of tongue-in-cheek lyrics, in your face moshing riffs and outlandish selection of sound clips are perfect for dinner entertainment the next time the in-laws are over.