Destruction Unit
Deep Trip
(Sacred Bones Records)
Destruction Unit are without doubt the most exciting cacophony of vicious rock n’roll noise I have heard in quite some time. Hailing from Arizona, Destruction Unit sound like the exact moment a group of young hardcore punk kids put aside their Minor Threat and 7-Seconds records, dropped LSD into their Kool Aid and cranked up Hawkwind to head-melting volume.
Opening track ‘The World On Drugs’ is a shockingly brutal statement of intent; a squealing barrage of feedback opens the track, building in intensity and noise, getting louder and louder, swirling and pulsating, until from out of nowhere a double snare crack signals the start of the best punk rock riff possibly EVER and slams you right between the eyes. From that moment, chaos and bedlam ensures, as each track takes turns to pulsate and pulverise. ‘Bumpy Road’ is a broody, moody piece that ebbs and flows and throbs, getting increasingly louder and more intense until you can physically feel a wet sensation in your ears. You check with the tip of your fingers. It’s blood.
‘Night Loner’ sounds like Loop fed through a meat grinder, whilst ‘The Church Of Jesus Christ’ is utterly menacing and foreboding. In short, ‘Deep Trip’ is no easy listen. It’s dark, scary, aggressive and harsh. And very, very exciting.
Catch them live in the UK this month.
James Sherry