Son of Slam Chops

(Triple X)
by Scott Hefflon

Ah, punk rock, the buzz words of the ’90s. Unlike many, Son of Slam Chops has a history, and therefore has relevance in the present and future. It opens with “Beat the Bastards” by The Exploited, and ya realize how many bands have tailored themselves after The Exploited, and fallen far shy of the original. Next up is D.I.‘s “Richard Hung Himself.” I’d only heard this on various fourth-generation punk tapes we all made, and am pleasantly surprised that the original sounds as poorly produced as the duped tapes. For those whose introduction to the song was watching it “live” in Suburbia (the original, not the new fangled SubUrbia), good for you. Those turned onto it by Slayer’s cover on Undisputed Attitude, well…. Next is “Fuck my Family” by the Candy Snatchers whose GG-style psycho rock mixes so well with the Danzig-esque bellow. I mean that sarcastically, but they’re primo old-style new-punk. While on the topic, “It’s All Moving Faster” by Electric Frankenstein marks yet another band that will be remembered when this wave of punk popularity has the common sense to die down and go exploit some other genre for a while. While the song is repetitive as shit, I like what they’re repeating.

We return to the archives for “Roadkill” by the Dickies. I couldn’t possibly summarize the impact of the Dickies in one sentence, and I’m not even going to try. “Smash the State” by Naked Aggression reminds me of a lot of ’80s punk bands I used to listen to where the singer couldn’t spew the lyrics in time to the music. And speaking of sloppy, the live “I Don’t Want to be a Homosexual” by Sloppy Seconds is just that. B.A.’s voice, like Fat Mike’s, is synonymous with the snottiness the word punk implies. “I Wanna Beavis You” by Snap-Her is a great all-girl fuck-you fest of raunch and roll. Their nyah-nyah punk sensibility jibes wonderfully with the fact that they can barely play their instruments or stay in time. Similarly, “Do the Nihil” by the Pin-Ups (featuring Rik L. Rik) has the wonderfully dated sense of meaningful punk rock. Following hot on the heels is “Stage Diving Daisy” by ADZ, who sound too much like the previous bands to sound good. Featuring former members of the Adolescents, ADZ don’t go anywhere we haven’t been before, and I liked it better the first time. Sorry.

Then “Things Start Moving” with the Adolescents, whose dark side has always made them strike a certain chord. The Vandals‘ “Girls Turn 18 Every Day” sounds so different than they do now, it may as well be a different band. The vocal/guitar conversation reminds me of REO Speedwagon, and seeing as how I’m embarrassed to admit that, they should be embarrassed they recorded this. New signee Fifi contribute “Sinkhole” and pour it on like an old school hardcore punk band who’ve heard a bit of metal. The live version of “Getting the Fear” by Poison Idea reminds you how ugly and angry punk was before it was given a facelift, when there was rock in punk rock instead of pop in punkpop. If “Frankenstomp” by Das Klown wasn’t actually recorded live, it sure sounds it. The rioting (as in with burning torches and pitchforks) sounds work beautifully with the monster howls and the overall outrunning-the-crowd feel of the song. “Lisa’s World” by Jeff Dahl is as gritty street-smart New York rock as you’d expect from Mr. Prolific currently living, where, Arizona? The closing track is “My Old Man’s A Fatso” by Angry Samoans. Listening to this, you see where a lot of punk bands got the idea, and how far they’ve strayed.