Published on Apr 19, 2002
Somewhere, Lee Ving is smiling. Punk is most definitely not
dead; there’s still plenty of it (meaning the non-commercialized
stuff) out there, if you know where to find it. The true hard-core
punks know what I’m talking about: one- to two-minute blasts of
anger and adrenalin that puts a smile on your face and makes you
want to beat the shit out of someone at the same time.
Enter St. Louis-based Very Metal and their latest disc
Hit And Run. Think about it: Fourteen songs, 23 minutes.
It’s almost enough to make you start sweating before you put the CD
in the player. Think about it: Motorhead played at 78 rpm – boy,
there’s a flashback for some of you.
Very Metal take the anger of late, lamented groups like Black
Flag and Fear and boil things down even further to their base
elements. The end result is raw, powerful, a little unsettling at
times, but still well worth your time and money.
The group – vocalist Pat Munster, guitarist Pat McCauley,
bassist Chris Walker and drummer Barry Peraino – have a tightness
to their sound that only comes from years of slugging it out on the
scene and in the clubs. The hard work pays off for them, as
Hit And Run is an incredibly tight CD, making sure the
messages in the songs are delivered in just the right amount of
notes and beats, with none wasted.
And, truth be told, it’s a pretty interesting ride. Tracks like
“Jealousy,” “Sicko Creep,” “Cheap Shot” and “Lie, Cheat, Steal” all
scream out the punk credo in songs that even the newcomer to the
world of punk music can appreciate. It almost makes one think that
the guys in Very Metal would kick the collective asses of Green Day
and Blink-182 without breaking a sweat.
Hit And Run is unsettling at first possibly because the
listener might read too much into the band’s name (meaning they
didn’t grow up watching “The Young Ones”), and will be momentarily
disappointed to discover that Very Metal is not metal at all.
Admittedly, it also takes a few listens for one to adjust to the
adrenalin rush you get from one song, only to have it end and
another track start. Long-time punk fans, of course, will eat this
up.
But where
Hit And Run can be enjoyed on one listen, it can only be
appreciated on several listens. The more I listen to this disc, the
more I find in it that I like. Sure, at 23 minutes, repeat listens
are about as easy as watching “The Simpsons” – and, to draw out
that comparison, with each new sitting, you’re bound to discover
something you didn’t catch before.
Very Metal will probably never become as big as Britney Spears,
but
Hit And Run proves there’s talent to spare in this band, and
they should be warmly embraced by fans of punk rock – or simply by
anyone who wants a change of pace and isn’t afraid of something a
little aggressive.