Bloodstains Across Your Face In Decline is prepared to rip the flesh straight from your bone. With 16 songs of lightning fast crusty punk, and the sonic urgency of a band that’s trying to replicate the thunder of a nuclear discharge, THE HOLY MOUNTAIN is a force to be reckoned with. This release compiles the band’s nine song 12″ Blood Stains Across Your Face, with five songs from the Your Face In Decline 7″, and also sports two songs from an upcoming split, one of which is a cover of ANTI-CIMEX’s “War Machine.” As with just about every Florida based band on No Idea, there’s a roster connection, as THE HOLY MOUNTAIN’s vocalist/bassist (Ponch) spent time in the grindcore act COMBATWOUNDEDVETERAN. Bloodstains… is readily comparable to FROM ASHES RISE and other contemporary bands that draw their strength from cutting political lyrics, and classic, tightly wound punk rock (and hey, what do you know, there’s a CRASS cover on here too!). There’s not a lot of variety between songs on the album, with just about every tune falling into either “fast,” or “faster” categories, but the dual guitars show off some nifty chord progressions, and the drumming is hard-hitting, but disciplined. It’s that extra bit of precision and care towards the songwriting that separates THE HOLY MOUNTAIN from being merely just another angry punk band. Solid stuff for what it is.

No Idea

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