Troublemaker

Neutral Territory Records found Troublemaker's demo good enough to press onto some black wax. I can't say I disagree -- this is some fine, thrashy New Jersey hardcore that would find them well-suited on a bill with Outbreak, Ceremony and, say, Bracewar.

The more charged offerings here are "Fury" and "Loveless," which are riddled with that typical thrash beat that some people can't really get sick of (depending on how well it's used, I guess I'm one of those people). The vocals are delivered with a typically raspy, pissed demeanor, but you can usually make out the words, which is kind of a change.

You're probably not expecting the most cheerful lyrical content, and you'd be right. Self-loathing, loathing of others -- that's about what you'll get on Troublemaker. "Fury" squeezes three fucks in about sixty seconds; that's a pretty good number of FPMs. Elsewhere, their vocalist declares "I pray in the dark for salvation to come and after 23 years I'm still on the run." It sounds a bit Dr. Seuss-y on paper, but I assure you it sounds better jumping off the wax.

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Troublemaker 7"