Hellbent

The now defunct site Metaladies introduced me to many bands, some good and some not so much, but either way, I listened to them so much during my teenage years that their music is now burned into my memory. And one of the Metaladies bands that caught my attention the most, and that I hadn't reviewed yet, was the absurdly named Junkyard Lipstick.

Junkyard Lipstick plays what I'll loosely define as thrash metal with a healthy dose of hard rock and pop punk, some compelling social commentary and mostly, a lot of dark humor. On this debut album, they made 11 catchy and pretty interesting and quirky songs, that still thrash like hell despite the apparent silliness. One of the most convincing examples of that is "Autopsy Time", a comedic autopsy report describing people dying in increasingly bizarre ways, with a relentlessly fast thrash metal rhythm and lyrics delivered at a fast pace with some high notes at the end of a verse. Vocalist Tazz-O has had some training as an opera singer, and you can hear that from her high, sharp, and occasionally lyrical 80s style heavy metal singing.

"Daisy" is another mixture of thrash metal and dark humor, with its "Daisy! Your unkept dress, your hair's a mess/ You killed your man for money and his land" chorus. It's also an example of the album's most interesting features: the character song. There are other tracks describing a character, and though they aren't always titled after the character's name, they do a pretty good job of telling a story. Like for example the title track, a sort of heavy metal track with hints of thrash, about a character constantly getting in trouble. Or the haunting "Flush" and its melancholic vocalizations on the intro and somewhat melancholic but fast thrash riffs, and lyrics about a single mother who has experienced nothing but violence and poverty her whole life.

"Barbie" has all the characteristics found in other tracks: a mix of thrash, melody and melancholy, a given name for a title and a mixture of storytelling and social commentary. It's about a couple who abused many little girls, and it's told in first person from a victim's perspective, which makes it even more harrowing. Other songs are pretty good, but this is the one you won't forget.

It seems to be based on various real cases, and it's one of the many songs about social issues. There is also "Dear Mr P", begging the president of the band's native South Africa to do something about all the problems going on in his country, like the corruption, violence and body part trafficking. "Reality TV" seems to treat reality TV being fake as an earth-shattering revelation, but it's still pretty good at skewering the fake, exploitative and sexist reality shows that infest many TV channels.

It also has a pretty good and catchy main riff, that sounds more like hard rock than thrash metal, but it still has fast-paced verses ending on high notes. Other tracks somewhat farther away from thrash are "Bus", a sort of heavy-doom track about the low quality of public transportation, and the catchy hard rock of "Rosie", about telling off an abusive ex-boyfriend who kept the singer she'd never have a career. Like many "you thought I couldn't make it but look where I am now" songs, it walks a thin line between empowering and petty, but it's saved by its funny lines and on-point description of how terrible the ex was.

And that's a pretty good description of Junkyard Lipstick's music in general: funny but with a bite, taking itself seriously enough to tackle difficult topics but not enough to have no sense of humor. That makes their politically charged songs less preachy than some might expect, because they are not written from the perspective of someone looking down on you but from someone telling you about someone else's tragic story, or their own. There are some interesting characters here, and the music is pretty enjoyable, having a sense of speed, heaviness and melody all at the same time. Maybe some tracks at the end are a little less interesting, but the good ones are really worth a listen.

It's also, in my opinion, the one Junkyard Lipstick album you need to hear. Their later work would get heavier, but also lose some of its quirky charm, focusing on political songs without the sense of humor, and the sense of melody. Then, after turning into a more typical 21st century thrash metal, they broke up. Their later stuff could still satisfy some of you, but it wasn't special like this absolutely irresistible debut.