MUSKET HAWK "Upside of Sick"


MUSKET HAWK

"Upside of Sick"

Crawling up from the sewers of Baltimore comes this ill-tempered 3-piece bearing a mini-album full of raw sounds and dire mindset. I wouldn't say their mix of sludge, punk and grind is totally unique but they compose their tunes in such a way that you don't really know what's coming at you next. And that's what keeps "Upside of Sick" an engaging listen, if you can stomach music this harsh.

"Roidhead Swindler" is a good indication of what you're in for. Starting slow with a bulldozer of sludgy doom, the song swings into a roaring grind at whirlwind pace before settling into a less frenzied but still raw punk tune. These three musical styles constantly twist and intertwine throughout the album and not in entirely predictable ways, even though the screaming, hollering vocals are very typical. "Hexagon" seems based more on pure grind (or is it powerviolence...I have a hard time telling) while "Dios Mio" is a catchy, almost NOLA-style sludge burner not far off from Eyehategod or Weedeater.

The big epic here is the final cut "Uncouth", which more than lives up to its name with more angry filth in both slow and fast modes. All told, "Upside of Sick" doesn't even last a half hour but delivers maximum hate in that time. Musket Hawk is not revolutionary but neither are they a by the numbers band If you wake up in an ugly mood and are looking for music to bolster that feeling, this is a pretty good choice.

UNHOLY ANARCHY RECORDS

MUSKET HAWK


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