PUNCHING MOSES
PUNCHING MOSES “Live Short And Suffer”
By Dr. Abner Mality
Now here is punk/metal crossover of a very high caliber! Hailing from Cleveland, these guys have a very metallic production but their heart is undeniably in bare knuckled, snot-nosed punk rock. Killer slamming hooks and mean ass vocals out to cut your throat!
Honestly, this is a great record all the way through. There’s traces of D.R.I., CRO-MAGS, GANG GREEN mixed with good ol’ punk like ANGRY SAMOANS. Things start off with a replay of that creepy Sinclair News soundbite...you know, the one where robot anchors from 50 different channels all read the same pre-written spiel about “fake news”. That slams into a catchy buzzsaw riff and we’re off to the races. Each song has its own personality...not easy to do in this genre. “Grim Reality” is a great metallic punk cracker and the slower, chunkier “Shadows On the Wall” reminds me of D.R.I.’s more deliberate moments. I think the blue ribbon goes to the short and explosive “Gore Bazaar”, which just plain SLAMS and features some awesome slide guitar to singe your nose hairs.
I thought for a minute they were going to break the mold with “Diving Lies”, which starts with some very moody cow-punk vibes, but no, even this one hits the thrash and does it hard. Ben Ihde has the perfect voice for this band and the rest of the guys are tighter than a nun’s sphincter. 2024 is pretty young as I write this, but I’m confident this will be one of my faves for the year.