Combat Wounded Veteran
This is Not an Erect, All-Red Neon Body
No Idea
Combat Wounded Veteran gets an “A+” for their cover artwork: a strange, skeleton-headed nude man (pale and white) holding his stomach, vomiting what appears to be several miles worth of hot pink intestines. Nice!
In terms of the music, it’s pretty much standard fare for CWV. One of the best things about this disc is that, regardless of the inherent sloppiness and spazziness of the band, many of the tracks here show just how much panache these guys have for the power of grindcore. If it isn’t the vocals that are terrifying the listener, it is the curiously unsettling drums, which switch times signatures constantly. While many grind bands use crisp riffs and over-produced drum sounds to assail the listener, CWV employ an added element of surprise: overdrive everything. The guitars endlessly feedback, the vocals are fuzzy and crunchy, the drums sound like the mics are too close, and so on. Such trickery results in one seriously vulgar and violent sounding band. Another interesting dimension of CWV is their occasional dual vocal attack. The band is at their best when going with this method, as it adds to the somewhat controlled chaos. One vocalist sounds kind of tough and growly, while the other is really high and frantic. Very cool!
It’s kind of sad that these guys aren’t around anymore. This album surely will fill in a lot of empty spots in die hard fans’ collections. This is Not an Erect, All Red Neon Body is kind of like the icing on the cake for said fans, who still thirst for CWV two years after the band’s demise. It’s a rather impressive set of tracks culled from various 7”s and compilations, all on one prettily decorated disc. You really can’t go wrong with this one: 42 tracks of pure violence and chaos, in about thirty minutes!
No Idea: http://www.noidearecords.com
