Anger Management

Hey, if you've known Foreskin as long as I have, you'd know how far they came from "Just a Fucking Preview!" to the current "Anger Management". They once had an EP completely recorded, in a good studio and all, but around the time (either before or after) flooding occurred in Pakistan, the hard drive crashed, and the entire EP was lost. So, what did they do? Did they quit like a bunch of cut-pansies? Heck no! They rumpled up the great Foreskin of Crossover and managed to make this cool piece of music! They have a bit of a following in Pakistan, as well as in certain parts of the world too, which is pretty cool as well, as I remember when their fan page was still in the low hundreds.

Now, on to the actual album and the music: the demo is made up of 2 tracks, each roughly adding up to about 8-10 minutes total length. In that 8-10 minutes, you will hear the best possible re-imagining of Suicidal Tendencies from that part of the world, as well as a take-no-shit track that's so manly, extended listening will probably result in facial in places you never thought you could grow it. It's that beastly and thrashy. The music and the riffing is perfect for this type of music, and they really hit the nail on the head with their production. The difference between the vocal production in "Hack N Slash" and "Anger Management" seems a little odd, but I do know that "Anger Management" is a much earlier recording than "Hack N Slash" anyway, so it's forgivable.

This demo is definitely a step up from BITP, which was pretty good compared to "Bombs Away" and "JAFP" anyways, so it means that as a band, they are only getting better, and will only continue to do so. Though the music is great and the production completely rocks the shit, the album has it's flaws for certain:

~ The different production styles on each track as a whole slightly interfere with the flow of the music from one track to the other. It's not a big deal, but it might be a concern on a physical release.

~ Sometimes, Anger Management's production seems overly-sparkly and as if it's lacking some bass, but other than that the production job is pretty solid.

~After all is said and done, it feels like the demo is just too short. It's a nice preview, but it would have been satisfying to hear what else they could come up with, given more record time.

I have complete faith that Foreskin will age like fine wine. However, hopefully the next release we get won't be so short!

Another short release by the Pakistani metal band 'Foreskin'. Two tracks with a total length of roughly seven minutes follow in some respect the style of the previous recordings, which does not differ much from them in this respect. Well, one should be glad that the persons behind this project have at least decided to move away from grindcore-esque approached and have started to write some longer compositions instead.

And these are actually quite good indeed; despite the general differences in the concept and style. While 'Hack N' Slash... The Dungeon' comes with a variety of tempi, the succeeding title track is more straight lined in this respect and more in a punk/thrash kind of way. The emphasis is rather on the instruments, while the lyrics seem give the impression of being there to fill some space instead of delivering a message; this is especially true for the opener. In this an interesting combination of elements appears, because due to the punkish nature of the second composition it could be imagined with a larger amount and variation of the vocals. Well, the samples from the movie 'Pulp Fiction' are able to compensate the flaw somehow.

It is an entertaining release by the Pakistani band, but most certainly nothing more. They should spread more tracks on less releases and not throw these in tiny bits unto the masses.

Based on a review originally written for ‘A dead spot of light (Number 20)’:
http://www.archive.org/details/ADeadSpotOfLight...Number20

They don’t like foreskins much in Pakistan, in most cases, they tend to put them under the knife not long after they’ve enjoyed some time outside the place they were created. Well, now it seems that this long oppressed group has found an outlet for its rebellion against the sharp object slashing majority via a crossover band by the same name. Over the past couple years; they’ve managed to focus their craft from being a poorly produced demo machine into something that passes for the average sound quality of a veteran outfit with access to 80s era technology.

“Anger Management” takes a rather peculiar approach to the topic hinted in its title by literally spilling it all out for the listener in the way a mass shooter might some random public place with bullets. Mostly built off of a barebones power chord riffing style common to the average NYHC band, but also including a fair amount of technical flair in the guitars at a few key points to put it up with a seasoned thrash outfit like Testament (though obviously lacking said band’s access to high-fi production sounds). There’s some occasional down tempo nods to a traditional doom sound here and there, not all that far from a typical Saint Vitus riffing style, but with a much more trebly tone, and the title song actually gets a bit nostalgic of said band’s collaboration with Black Flag by employing elements of both bands, along with some sampled dialogue from Quentin Tarantino’s “Pulp Fiction” just for added effect.

This little demo is up and free of charge, so feel free to check it out if you like it irreverent in an old school sense. The influences are worn right on its shirtsleeve and there isn’t a whole lot in the way of innovation to separate this from 80s crossover save a slightly more guttural vocal style somewhat reminiscent of Napalm Death, particularly on “Hack N’ Slash…The Dungeon”. It’s not quite in the same league as Suicidal Tendencies or Corrosion Of Conformity, but considering it’s an independent venture, it definitely is far from bad.

This demo has two tracks, mixed and mastered by different band members, with different feels and sounds to them. Both of them have a few things in common. The band is an aggressive thrash metal band with harsher shouted/growled vocals, more aggressive than most 80s thrash but not as heavy as most extreme thrash. The band has a bit of an old school heavy metal feel at times, crossing into power metal territory with the solos. The riffs are mostly standard thrash riffs that sound a bit dark.

The first track's sound is blunted, clear enough but it doesn't have an edge to it. It's thrashy with a bit of a speed metal sound at times. The vocals are oddly timed, seeming to be a little bit behind the guitars, though I'm not sure that's intentional or just unfortunate. The production makes it sound a bit dark during the slower parts. The vocals are really compressed and weave in and out of the guitar riffs - the two fit together well at times, but the sounds don't mesh.

The second track has harsh, trebly production, tons of crunch and the cymbals are clipping so there's a bit of a hiss. This one sounds much thrashier and more like crossover, with simple punkish chugging and chords and snarled vocals. The timing on this one gets really sloppy on the middle, with drums that sound programmed at times clicking (and clipping) while the guitar isn't in time with them. Apparently the drummer is also playing guitar on this release, which explains the performance that's too sloppy for even a first-take punk record.

Foreskin put together a decent mix of thrash metal with tinges of heavy/speed metal and death metal at times. The production and performances are inconsistent. While they have some good ideas, it doesn't come together here and it's forgettable. I wouldn't rule out checking out a future release, but nothing on this demo makes them stand out.