Venomous Concept - Kick Me Silly - VC III album review

05/02/2016 Reviews Share

Venomous Concept - Kick Me Silly - VC III album review

Venomous Concept (Chicago, USA)
Genre: Hardcore Punk/Grindcore
Album: Kick Me Silly - VC III
Label: Season of Mist

Venomous Concept is a supergroup that consists of Napalm Death/Nuclear Assault/Brutal Truth members, or to be more precise, Danny Herrera behind the drums, Kevin Sharp on vocals, John Hook and Shane Embury on guitars and Danny Lilker, (one of the finest metal mercenaries) on bass. After 8 long years, these guys decided to bring some noise to your ears! Lineup itself made of such legendary musicians is enough to draw your attention regarding their latest release, Kick Me Silly - VC III. And when these guys are together, comic relief is unavoidable. And really, a band with a song of total 11 seconds in length cannot be taken deadly serious.

Kick me Silly, the 3rd Venomous Concept album contains the aspects of punk/hardcore/grindcore/death metal. This fusion of genres is what makes it really unpredictable. Diversity and radical dynamic shifts are quite essential to the music formula that Venomous Concept strives to achieve. When the songs are at stake, it would be absurd to analyze total of 20 tunes one by one. Lovers of punky-edged sound would definitely dig stuff like Rise, Anthem, Human Waste, Leper Dog, Holiday in Switzerland, Frontal Lobe or hilariously funny Fucked in Czech Repub. Dual vocal attack which can be heard in Head on a Stick irresistibly reminds of some Napalm Death's Mitch Harris-era tunes. But the song that definitely steps out from the rest of the catalogue is Cheeseburger - hysterical demand embodied through aggressive blast beats and shredding riff reminds us of the fact that Charlie wants a Cheeseburger! For folks who are hungry for sheer grinding madness I would single out tunes such as: Busy with your Debt, Pretend, Pretty on the Inside, Good Times, or Neck Tie, one of the most furious songs I've heard for a while. That doomy opening riff is just perfect!!!

Now the ultimate gems which can be found on this record are: Forever War, pretty unique sounding piece of art, Daycare (whose brutallity is outstanding!), Quasimodo (craziest punk song on the record if you ask me), Potters Ground and Farm Boy (both tunes possess some cool Napalm Death's Diatribes/Inside the Torn Apart - era vibe). Burning Fatigue is also one of the finest, when pure grinding madness is concerned. Album is closed by a 15 minutes longRocket Science... Now, those riffs are breathtaking! It's also good to notice that total carnage starts from 2:22. Mindfucking stuff. Literally.

The only objection to Kick Me Silly VC III can be applied to almost every grindcore release - songs are way too short! I would compare it to premature ejaculation. Nobody likes it when all of a sudden, their headbanging is interrupted by an unexpected ending. All in all, Venomous Concept are miles away from the majority of mediocre sounding supergroups . These guys are the best in what they do for a living - writing music.