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March 28, 2024


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Shank
Coded Messages in Slowed Down Songs (Slap A Ham)

By: Jeb Branin

To say I had high expectations for this album would be an understatement. I expected it to be one of the best records of the year and, although it has been pushed back so that the year in question is 2002, it is everything I expected and more. SHANK play a no-frills flavor of frantic thrash that will have your speakers pounding so fast you'll be lucky if they don't burst into flame from friction heat-that is until they slow down (just for contrast), at which point their pounding takes on the rhythm of continental drift as is just as unstoppable. Their furious delivery is matched by their intelligent lyrics and the rough and tumble production job on "Coded Messages in Slowed Down Songs" that is surprisingly in-your-face and clear considering it was recorded in a basement for like two bucks and a subway token (if I have my stories straight). I know the band hates labels, but fans of power violence should put buying this album on their "to do" list right now because SHANK is one of only a handful of bands who can be mentioned in the same breathe as first-wave PV bands without embarrassment. SHANK doesn't really sound like CROSSED OUT but they have the same frenetic energy and use contrasting fast and slow parts just as effectively.
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