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What’s up Sorry Staters?
I guess I’ll just dive right into my staff pick this week. In last week’s newsletter, I talked about the new Disintegrators tape and a new crop of bands emerging out of the Richmond scene. One of the other bands I mentioned was Massacre System. Now, perhaps I’m a bit biased choosing Massacre System for my staff pick, because Usman and I released their new cassette on our label Bunker Punks. But now that Sorry State has distro copies of the tape up for sale on the webstore, I hoped all you readers would indulge me while I give some attention to our label’s new release!
Massacre System’s vocalist Terrence is an old friend who relocated to Richmond from North Carolina a few years back. I remember Terry sent us the recording when it was finished, just as a friendly gesture to give it a listen. Several months back, Usman and I cranked the recording in the record store while we were working together, and it just sounded explosive coming out of the speakers. I was totally blown away.
The band definitely plays Discharge-inspired hardcore. Each song is stitched together with layers of hissing, turbulent noise. But once the music kicked in, one thing that struck me immediately is how powerful, yet clear and crispy the recording sounds. Definitely leaning more toward Disfear’s Soul Scars than Disclose from a production standpoint, if ya know what I mean.
This tape just sounds crushing. It feels like getting pummeled and beaten repeatedly. 4 songs, all short bursts of fury. Sammie, the drummer who plays in tons of other bands, brings that totally swingy groove to the Dis-beat. But then the last track, “War Crime Technology,” starts with a mid-paced military march tom-roll groove, only to suddenly launch unexpectedly into some Heresy/Ripcord-esque speedy thrash. I’ve known Terrence for years, and when I first heard their vocals, I was kinda like… Damn dude, I didn’t know you had it in ya!! Terrence’s unhinged, maniacal, rabid dog-style barking approach to the vocals reminds me of Joe from Urchin a little bit. Desperate howls shouted into the void, echoing down the halls of the asylum.
What’s extra cool about Massacre System is the combination of people that make up the band. A few of the members are a bit older, Richmond scene veterans who have played in many, many bands. Then a few of the people are a bit younger, punks who have been active in the scene for a while, but feel like fresh faces. Paul, one of the two guitarists, recorded and mixed this Massacre System recording. He’s also been doing a bunch of great recordings for other bands in the Richmond scene. Then the other guitar player Charlotte did the cover artwork for the cassette. So, it’s like the whole band is a totally self-contained DIY unit. All made in-house, baby. So rad.
I could continue to gush about Massacre System, but I’ll keep it brief this week. Stoked to see my friends making killer stuff. Hardcore rules. That is all. As always, thanks for reading.
‘Til next week,
-Jeff