According to Misanthropic Aggression, “it WILL get worse. It always does.” Although I love the use of over-the-top negativity as an artistic muse, there is something uplifting and exhilarating about the band’s sound, an apparent blend of Celtic Frost, Grave, His Hero Is Gone, Morbid Angel, and Impetigo that provides all the fury of crust along with the sheer power of death metal. In listening to the band’s new single, “A.S.S. III — The Borderland Wars,” I’d definitely add Skitsystem and Driller Killerto the bands that resemble this wicket blend of blistering noise.
The band tells us: “On this album, A.S.S. uniquely stands for “Active Soviet Situation” but the acronym is a reference to other songs we released previously.” They go on to explain that “the second song we wrote for the first demo in 2017 was entitled “Active Shooter Syndrome (A.S.S.)” as it was composed in reaction to the terrible Mandalay Bay shooting by Stephen Paddock. For our 7″ in 2020, we had a song called “Retired from Life” which was unofficially designated as “ASS II” by us and written in response to various other shooter situations. For this album, A.S.S. III was written shortly after the Ukraine invasion started. Most of the lyrics are inspired by actual news reports or accounts from the war.”
The band’s new album, Insect Politics, comes out on October 15 via Boris Records. Stream “A.S.S. III — The Borderland Wars” below.
