If there's one genre of music I really want to get into more than I already have, it's hardcore punk. Maybe it's just because, so far, I've listened to all the right stuff (Bad Brains, Minor Threat, etc.), but what I've heard is enough to convince me on the entirety of the genre. Thus, a random article on Kotaku became a blessing in disguise when it allowed me to discover an awesome contemporary addition to the genre. (The article mentioned the cover, reminiscent of an old-school video game cover and its extravagant physical packaging, but mentioned little to nothing about the album itself.)
Ghidoragh, if my understanding of the group is correct, is a hardcore punk outfit from New Zealand. I've been unable to find out how long they've been around, but perhaps the only existing YouTube video I could find seems to date them back to 1999. And it claims to be a reunion show. I honestly have no idea when the group got started (I doubt it's the same group, because some of the band's official pages call this EP their debut) but, no matter if this is their first effort or their thirtieth, one thing's certain: this EP kicks all kinds of ass.
The first thing that has to be noted is the length of this thing. Staying true to their roots, Threat Level Ultra clocks in at just under nine minutes over the course of eight tracks. No track is longer than a minute and a half, and I'll be damned if the group doesn't pack in some serious punch in record time.
The first track demonstrates exactly what this group is going for: Fledgling Industry is a light-hearted, parodical perspective into the business world with the driving line of "One hundred million dollars/One hundred million dollars/Business, business." There's a lot to get psyched for in this 48-second track, and as it seamlessly segues into First Contact, we get an even catchier line that jumps from 15 to 16 to 18 to 20 to 30 to 40 to 50 to 1000. (I can't quite make out what comes after each of the numbers, but it doesn't make it any less noteworthy.) For all of the hardcore punk I've listened too, very little of it has been enough to make me hum it nonchalantly during mundane activities (with the exception of Sailin' On by Bad Brains). Not only does this rock, but it's surprisingly compulsively listenable.
Suncrash offers the first of many retro-inspired audio clips, this one appearing from what sounds like a sci-fi film, as well as more of the same in terms of music. Bonus Level is a neat little lo-fi epilogue to this song taken from what sounds like either live footage or a raw recording of rehearsal footage.
Goop on the Perimeter has one of the most bafflingly funny audio clips from what sounds like an old PC game with a voiceover that sounds like John Cleese, culminating with the line "Now... masturbate!" The album's sole instrumental, it starts fast-paced like it's predecessors before coming down into a sludgy stomp that is hypnotically intoxicating.
Spiders is another light-hearted, fast 'n' heavy romp that plays like a punk version of something from Need New Body. It's a fun little non-sequitur of a song with lines like "Spiders, spiders everywhere/Spiders, spiders in my hair." And it ends with yet another cool audio clip, this one coming from what sounds like an old grindhouse movie trailer.
Threat Level Ultra is probably the most epic track on the EP, beginning with a siren wail before a slow opening and going through several progressions too numerous to note in writing before ending as soon as it began. It never repeats, never becomes dull, and is continuously interesting. It's an awe-inspiring track simply in its nature and really shows off the group's potential better than any other.
Dirt Dicks (yes, that's the actual name of the track) begins in one of the most oddly fitting ways I've ever heard a song start; it opens with an audio clip of Bill Cosby explaining an experience he had drumming with Sonny Stitt before effortlessly working in a count-in to the actual song. And it works. Flawlessly. The song itself fits the typical hardcore punk vibe more than the rest of the EP, working in nihilism and pure unfiltered energy (as opposed to previous songs about business, contact with aliens, militarism, and space) before ending with more of what we've come to expect: the climactic ending audio clip from the game The Chaos Engine.
As much as I've enjoyed writing this review for this short but sweet taste of the band's output, it really can't compare to hearing the actual thing. So, regardless of if you're a fan of hardcore punk or new to the genre, take a listen to the EP over on the group's Bandcamp page (linked below). Best of all, if, like me, you really enjoy this collection of music, you can download it at a price of your own choosing. I'd really like to see more from this group, so any bit of contribution helps. I really dug this small taste of what Ghidoragh can offer and definitely look forward to whatever they put out next.
Best Songs: Threat Level Ultra, Fledgling Industry, First Contact
Worst Songs: It's a 9 minute, 8 track EP. Does it fucking matter if there's anything worth being called "worst"? (Not that anything on here even comes close deserves that label.)
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