Rise of the Degenerates

Despite a slew of little releases, it took The Shining a decade to put out a full-length, and even then it was less than 20 minutes long. You shouldn't confuse this Dutch group with the pop rock band The Shining (the internet does) or the film The Shining, since they sound nothing like either, fusing typical street punk with all the amphetamines they can find to produce the raging speed of Rise of the Degenerates. This is very fast, very noisy, and pretty good.

The most thrashy this gets is referencing the first half of a Sodom riff, but it gets repeated before the band even have a chance to finish it, so you can be certain that everything is as simple as possible here. The style doesn't need too much distortion as long as the drums can keep up with the chugging or chord-based riffs, and the drummer mostly opts for a naturally quick cross between D-beat and blasting that settles back to regular time when mid-paced cuts like 'Managers' cruise in more gently. However, slower sections are pretty rare, usually lasting for a single verse or providing an introduction, while feedback seems to be a tool to cover up the quieter instances between crazy bursts. Indeed, the quartet want to go so fast that several songs simply burst into the next one without stopping, making me wonder whether some of this was recorded live. Considering that this is aggressive punk metal, it seems likely.

You'll not be able to pick out individual songs for analysis on your first listen, though there are details to be found and enjoyed, even if the main purpose is just to ambush the listener, drag them down an alley, and club them until The Shining feel bored. The introduction to 'Chemical Prophet' has a distinctive use of the thick, gritty bass tone that makes the album feel heavier than most punk: a sort of urban menace lurks within the rumbling bassline and unnerving cymbals, making good use of all the instruments. Simple breaks in 'Drug Money' and 'Don't Sign Up' provide ample distraction from the surrounding mayhem, though there really isn't much use of lead guitar, as we might expect from a lone six-stringer. The riffing is all there though, both in terms of ragged speed punk and the more extreme thrash and death techniques brought out occasionally for 'No Hammer Big Enough' and 'Crucifiction'.

Naturally, Rise of the Degenerate is not designed for lovers of atmosphere or subtlety, but works best when speed is essential and your immediate vicinity is free of sharp objects. As intentions go, battering the fuck out of the listener for 11 songs is a pretty noble one that the brevity and incision of The Shining's approach make successful. God knows why it took these guys over 10 years to wean themselves off EPs and splits, though it might have something to do with the sounds of a fight that end closer 'Firetrucks on Fire'. The "do we give a shit?" attitude is aptly summed up by the closing snippet of a (weirdly) Northern English man saying, "That's it, I've had enough." So, it seems, had the band.