It’s only 31 days into 2005, but already, standout releases have been made available by hardcore luminaries, 7 SECONDS and KILL YOUR IDOLS. Shortly, the legendary SLAPSHOT, now its in 20th year, will join that list with its latest contribution, Tear It Down, a seven-song exodus of Jack Kelly’s imfamous gravel-mouthed vocals, and the band’s traditional sinister hardcore sneer. Unapologically straight-forward, crass, and well, a little dumb too, Boston’s SLAPSHOT hammer their way through contemptous hate of their geographic rival, (“Fuck New York”), rap music (“Rap Sucks” – as one might expect, this track is slightly narrow-minded!), and everything in between. Sardonic jabs at politics have always infiltrated SLAPSHOT’s sound, and on Tear It Down, the sixth track, “Spread the Fear,” takes aim at the Bush administration’s habit for causing unnecessary alarm. Although the entire release was recorded at Boston Baked Bean Sudios, the recording quality is uneven between the seven tracks, with a majority of them sounding crusty and dry. For most SLAPSHOT fans, that shouldn’t make much of a difference, but it’s clearly noticeable, and an unfortunate distraction. A key selling point to Tear It Down is the 20 minutes of enhanced video footage that’s crammed on to this release, and while the video quality is strong, it’s not something that I’d likely watch over and over again. SLAPSHOT fans will surely be appeased with this new release, but for newcomers, I highly recommend the band’s Greatest Hits, Slashes And Crosschecks, which Bridge 9 put together in 2002.

Thorp

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