Chesty Malone and the Slice 'em Ups have just re-released Torture Rock. Originally released on CD in 2011, their second album is now available–for the first time–on limited edition vinyl (1332 Records). But first, for those of you not yet familiar with the act in question, a bit o’ background.
Chesty Malone and the Slice 'em Ups
According to online sources such as the band’s official Facebook page, this oft’times gore-inspired group was born on the dark side of New York City. The roster here includes Jaqueline Blownapart on lead vocals, Anthony Allen Van Hoek on guitar, Uruk Brutal on bass, and Angel Cotte (Demolition Hammer, Them) on drums.
Signature Sound
Chesty Malone and the Slice 'em Ups’ signature sound is a mash-up of multiple music genres including metal, punk, rock, and thrash. The band’s music is influenced by an assortment of other acts such as Bad Brains, Black Flag, Black Sabbath, Misfits, Motorhead, Necros, Negative Approach, and Venom. Their music may also be occasionally influenced by the Stooges and older Metallica. The more operatic or theatrical aspects of their performances may be influenced by Screamin' J. Hawkins too. The band also notes that they were influenced early on by “an unhealthy dose of zombie & slasher flicks, trashy novels & late night sci-fi TV.”
Torture Rock
Torture Rock is a 15-track album of original material. Now available on red and white, red and black, and classic black vinyl, it has a running time of approximately 35 minutes. It is a fiery follow-up to their 2008 premiere platter Now We're Gonna See What Disaster Really Means that comes complete with crazed guitars, unhinged vocals, and a rugged, rockin’ rhythm section.
That all adds up to the band giving it their all and cracking it up to 11. In the words of your rockin’ writer’s youngest spawn and the world’s harshest music critic, the music here will “make [your] ears bleed” assuming your brain “know[s] what to make of it.”
Track by Track
The album opens with the instrumental “En Sanguine.” It’s a brief parenthetical piece that may draw the listener’s interest but fails to properly warn newbies about the world in which they are about to aurally enter.
The second selection is “Protest The Unborn.” It provides a perfect introduction to the attitude, gang vocals, and unrestrained performance that makes their music their own. It’s especially perfect for a crummy commute impaired by single pregnant women drivers in the carpool lane and vehicles with “Baby On Board” signs and “Baby In Car” decals.
The next number is the pulse-pounding “Primordial Times.” This explosive albeit brief hardcore cut is nigh out of control as the band rides the razor edge of raging rock. While the song is lyrically about what it’s like to be a caveman, it is also one of the songs that go beyond the basic blood and gore of some other songs to unearth a musical metaphor about how one can feel like a troglodyte in today’s world.
“Bloodthirsty Hungry And Mean” rushes in as the panic-inducing urgent energy continues in this angry audio offering.
The furious “Filtheater” may invoke some unpleasant imagery, and yet by now, who cares? (You know you want it.) If you’re listening to this in private, you’re undoubtedly uncontrollably thrashing around the room to this vaguely Plasmatics-reminiscent recording.
The sixth searing serving is soundtrack-ready. Yes, “The Brain That Ate New York” is a fave of critics and fans alike. It has a surprisingly catchy chorus and includes aural imagery that inspires lovers of horror films. Maybe it’s just your California-based scribe’s location, but it also seems to be reminiscent of something by the old L.A. punk rock band Fear.
Not to be confused with the song from the 1959 Rodgers and Hammerstein musical
The Sound of Music or anything by John Coltrane, this, like all the other tracks here is an original song. This one is rife with rash riffs that give it its own little identity.
As Side One closes, the band offers listeners the opportunity to enjoy a “Brainwash Cocktail” and let go of everything but the music. It comes complete with more great gang vocals too.
Side Two opens on “Bloodsong.” It seems to take a slightly different musical direction and yet the guts and grime remain; as does the act’s overall signature sound.
The second slice on the fierce flip side is “Zombie Relief Fund.” Add this one to your hip, horrific Halloween hit list and tunefully travel to Zombieland. Here the gory group gropes with the idea of not wasting money feeding humans who are starving, but instead feeding said humans to starving zombies.
“Quest For Flesh” follows. “Quest For Flesh” is another blistering bit that is intense yet all too brief. On the other hand, it seems that sometimes the band breaks standard songwriting rules, and rather than include multiple verses and choruses they just musically make their potent points and then immediately move on to the next number.
“Panic At Pt. Doom” features fiery-fast guitar and a thriving throbbing bass line. This one is indie-film ready and fairly screams out for a distinct disturbing music video.
“Exit 13” would be slightly overshadowed if it didn’t maintain its own gritty groove and venomous vocals. It’s perfect for a manic rash road trip provided you can find the exit or even want to get off.
Also included is “The Night Jaqueline Came Out Of The Grave.” This is yet another numbing nightmarish number for your awesome All Hallow’s Eve…or any other time you need to near riot.
The closing cut is the instrumental “Ex Sanguine.” They close the work the way they opened it–with a parenthetical piece.
Overall…
Overall, this wild wax will appeal to anyone who is into hardcore punk. It’s perfect for playing in old gritty Gotham clubs where pre-rave rockers and dirty dwellers of the dark gather for some spontaneous slightly sweaty thrashing both in bathrooms and dirty dance floors. It’s uninhibited, musically unpretentious, and raw.
It is the audio equivalent of Clint “Joe Kidd” Eastwood crashing a train through a salon of slimy bad guys after being shot full of holes by a Hmong gang and resurrected on the hood of his speeding Gran Torino. You want safe MOR music? Get off my lawn! Go check out Chesty Malone and the Slice 'em Ups’ rockin’ release Torture Rock and join the “Quest For Flesh.”
(Images courtesy of Holly Neil Hawkins and Chesty Malone and the Slice 'em Ups.)