Spiked Collar- demo tape review

Spiked Collar- demo tape review

This is raw and brutal but still has an independently tracked sound to it, which makes all the difference.  It sounds like a couple of current Texas hardcore punk bands, but a Detroit band instead.  This is what hardcore punk is supposed to sound like.  James’ vocals are rough yet decipherable, distant yet energetic, forceful yet not forced, snarly and mean but not in a bulldog-ish way.  Nick and Denis’ guitars are perfectly balanced between the raw and real and the well-produced and clean, where it’s neither painful to listen to nor too slick and overdone.  MANPUPPY’s bass follows with the guitar here- well blended, raw but not too much so.  Jake’s drums are tight but not so tight that it’s perfect; it is nigh-perfect in its imperfection.  With some badass hand-drawn artwork and a fresh perspective by the band members, these cuts make up my new favorite Detroit hardcore/punk band.  I cannot fucking wait to see more shows, cuz this demo is gonna last me a while.
James (the singer) told me about this band back in June of last year (2014) at the Trash Talk/Rzl Dzl show (a wild event in and of itself), and since he has always been on point in writing music, I was downright thrilled to hear it.  After a few months passed, I wondered what came of it, if it was just a pipe dream, dead in the water, or if it was progressing.  Then, in November, word was released, and my dream came true.  The waiting here was so very worth it.  Their first set at the Hard Stripes/Pure Disgust show at Refuge was so good, I almost yelled at them to play it again.  Hell, it was five minutes long anyways.  Cannot get enough of this.

-Aunty Social