I can still remember when I first heard Dillinger Four; I felt as if my head was being knocked clean off my shoulders. Not so much through any power or intensity (both of which traits are found in that band's music) but more through the "Bloody hell, this is great" kind of sense that came with the experience. Galactic Cannibal elicited the same response when I first heard this album. Even now, after over two dozen plays in three days, this records floors me on each and every listen. It's not that the band are doing anything particularly different or better than anyone else, but it's just got this kind of strength that hits you in the nose and then keeps giving head shots for the 23 straight minutes.
Galactic Cannibal includes Nick Woods of Direct Hit!, who are a bit more of a pop-punk outfit. Galactic Cannibal use a similar approach to underpin what they do, but also add a few massive lumps of hardcore to create an unrestrained, boisterous punk rock sound. In order to provide a reference point or two, the best I can come up with is crossing the aforementioned Dillinger Four with Pinhead Gunpowder, with just a touch of Cemetery thrown in for good measure. Woods' vocals are deranged and often guttural, as if his internal organs are all trying to evacuate his body at the same time; this certainly adds a distinctive topping to the band's output. It gives the impression that the frontman would be the focal point of any Galactic Cannibal live performance.
The first track "Hate Everything More" begins:
âGoddamn raise a fucking fist, what you waiting for,
I can see a tremor running through your skin,
Goddamn throw a fucking punch, what you waiting for,
When the hell will enough be e-fucking-nough'
and it leaves me slightly taken aback on first listen, as it was not expected; neither the lyrical content nor the immediate blast that powers its way from my speakers. Subsequently it's a most welcomed sound but does manage to leave an impression that there is something ugly bubbling away inside whoever wrote the lyrics.
To highlight the rage that emanates from this record the first four lines of "The Death Before," which leads off the second side, are:
"Fuck your rules and Fuck your codes and
Fuck the mouth that spews this out,
Swimming in this vomit doesn't help
Keep You Clean"
These, alongside other lyrics on the album ("Up Against The Wall" identifies its targets quite clearly) denote someone with a lot of stuff going on in their head, and none of it seems to be about bunnies and flowers; therefore, Galactic Cannibal provide the perfect outlet for such fury and discontent.
The song structures clearly have a pop-punk sensibility throughout, and that provides the right counterpoint to the force of the more hardcore-oriented elements; a combination that nails down what I often like to listen to. This is seriously good.