Labels: Selfmadegod
Review by: Alex Deller
Hearing that cherished bands are “back in the studio” is rightfully met with a mixture of horror and fear, but when it comes to between-the-cracks types like Satanic Malfunctions it’s hard to muster a half-interested “eh?” I mean, c’mon, stuff like ‘Disgrace To Humanity’ might have a certain time-and-a-place appeal for crate-diggers and UK punk scholars, but considering what else was going on within the same rough timeframe (‘Scum’, ‘Defiance Of Power’, ‘Earslaughter’, Doom’s split with No Security…) it was hardly seminal stuff. This latest effort “” the band’s first in 22 years “” meets these low expectations with aplomb: an ok album featuring 20 ok tracks that match sing-song anarcho cadences with blurts of speed and clumpy, clunky riffing in a way that can hardly compete with modern hardcore greats like Framtid, Vaaska or Herätys. Still, with founding fathers like Black Flag and Bad Brains intent on soiling their legacies with cock-wipe releases maybe even mediocre returns like this should be seen as some sort of infinitesimally small mercy? Nah, me either.