Starfuckers - Metallic Disease

This record originally came out back in '89 but apparently never really found its audience, which would explain why I've never heard of these guys before. It's actually very good, though. Kind of psych-noise/proto-grunge type stuff, largely, with a bit of an experimental edge. The vocal delivery is more than a little Iggy-esque, but there's a lot of repetitive, motorik riffing like a dirty guitar-heavy take on Suicide in places. Things never stand still for too long, though; there isn't a single track on this record that goes over the five minute mark. The production is a bit tinny and very much of its time, but you don't buy a 20-year-old record to hear something that sounds brand new, do you? There's moments where it all descends into swirling chaos which are quite welcome in what is ultimately very much a song-based album. Yeah, basically it's a mix of mid-'80s Sonic Youth, Suicide and the Stooges. You don't have to look too hard to find elements of MC5, Spacemen 3 or The U-Men, either. Totally solid songs, too. Great riffs, some real head-nodders. By the standards of its time I guess it's pretty noisy and chaotic, but make no mistake, this is largely just wild-eyed neanderthal riffing. When they take things down a notch on the hard grooving 'Cold White Cancer' the singer's Italian accent comes out pretty heavily, which I get a bit of a kick out of. I thought they were American up until here. If scuzzy late '80s rock is your thing, you won't be going far wrong with this one.