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Lawnmower Deth

Blunt Cutters

Review by Gary Hill

I've heard of this band for a long time, but this is my first time hearing them. I had heard that they were thrash metal. I don't think that classification fits other than the last song here. I'd consider them to be a hardcore punk band. Mind you, the difference between those two types of music is a matter of degrees over one line or the other. I'm reminded of things like GWAR and Stormtroopers of Death in a lot of ways on this, and both of those bands similarly lean near the boundary of the two styles. Both of them have a lot of humor in the mix, too. That's true of this, as well.

As you might expect of this type of music, parental advisories are prevalent. In fact, they are so common here that I haven't put them on individual tracks, but instead am issuing a blanket one. It should also be noted that the songs are generally very short - so short that an album that runs quite a bit less than 40 minutes has 18 songs. This is all very entertaining, and I suppose it is worth noting that the production quality is definitely higher than what you expect with hardcore punk.

This review is available in book (paperback and hardcover) form in Music Street Journal: 2022  Volume 5. More information and purchase links can be found at: garyhillauthor.com/Music-Street-Journal-2022.

Track by Track Review
Into The Pit
There are some thrash sides to this. Overall I'd consider it hardcore punk, though. It's furious, fierce and just plain mean. It does turn more purely metallic at points.
I Don’t Want To
Even meaner, noisier and more furious, this is even more pure hardcore. It still some metal edges to the guitar sound.
Botheration
The onslaught continues with more stuff that largely feels cut from the same cloth.
Swarfega
This has an interesting start and stop thing at play. The arrangement is tastefully strange with its changes.
Bastard Squad
The hooks on this are oddly infectious. The whole thing is on fire with its raw ferocity.
Now He’s A Priest
The riffs on this are a little more metallic. The cut still has plenty of raw hardcore fury built into it, though.
Good Morning, Phil
Seriously pounding and angry, this is a screamer.
Bobblehead
This is another that has some seriously catchy hooks. It is a great tune for the pits, as well.
Raise Your Snails
Now, this screamer does land more on the metal side of the equation in a lot of ways. It's a powerhouse that's one of my favorites in here, in part due to the particularly meaty riff driving it.
Deth! Maim! Kill!
There is a strange spoken clip at the start of this. The cut fires out into fierce hardcore punk from there.
Christ Options
This thing is a dramatic, stop and got tune that's very short.
Hell’s Teeth
Frantic bass playing starts this. The rest of the band jump in as this screaming hot hardcore stomper kicks into full gear.
Blunt Cutters
=Drums lead this one out, and the rest of the group join. It's another powerhouse screamer.
Space Herpes
This frantic thrasher is less than a minute long. It's fierce.
Nothing But Noise
Not a big change, this is another scorching hot slab of fury.
Goodnight, Bob
This one is another that's less than a minute long, and a big part of that is the sound of the ocean on both sides of it.
Power Bagging
Now, this one is more metallic in its driving power.
Agency Of COB
Even more of a metal song, this has so much class. There is a spoken piece, a narrator or newscaster, telling a science fiction story at the beginning. The cut turns out to more of an epic metal thing for the main vocals of the song. At over four-and-a-half-minutes long, this is the epic of the album, by a long shot. It's also my favorite song here. It has some serious old school thrash built into it at times. If the whole album were like this, I would have landed it under heavy metal.
 
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