Existing between roughly 1995—1998 or so, Detestation was a rather surprisingly prolific group during that time. This repress of the band's 1998 self-titled CD comes once more from the mighty Profane Existence and collects some of the legendary Portland outfit's finest material on one handy disc—despite the fact that there's plenty of material not included on this massive hour-long collection, too. Included as an added bonus to the LP tracks are the "Inhuman Condition" 7", split 7"s with Substandard and Abuso Sonoro, and this 2005 edition also adds the "Blood of the Gods" 7" as well. A previously unreleased (I think?) cover of Crucifix's "Rise and Fall" is also tacked on, amidst other renditions of Kaaos and Republika songs from the EP's.
Though the mandatorily interconnected Portland lineup contains pre-/post- ties to Defiance, Masskontroll, Resist, Hellshock, and Severed Head of State, among others, Detestation's rather commonplace brand of 90's crust punk remains a well rooted benchmark for the scene, and with good reason. Thanks in no small part to some scorching female vocals with great vocal arrangements, the band's lightly metallic power chords tended to be a little tighter and more memorable than most, thus Detestation is rightfully remembered as one of the finest of the genre. Generally fast tracks of two to three minutes occasionally give way to longer compositions with drawn out intros or midpaced breaks with a little added dissonance (Like the awesome "White Trash Genocide" from the band's first 7"—check out that chugga break near the end!), so the material is consistent without feeling one-sided.
Speaking to the quality of the band's songwriting abilities, admittedly I haven't listened to my copy of the original pressing of this CD in years, and yet I still recall several of these songs upon first listen—which is really rare for this form of hardcore/punk, to be quite honest. Hell, I probably only listened to the split 7" with Substandard once after I bought it back in the day, but I still remember "Day In Day Out", too! Pretty solid recordings are also demonstrated throughout the disc, and ironically it's the most recent recordings from the "Blood of the Gods" 7" that are the rawest—which is a shame, because the title track is great, but the recording basically blows. That's no big deal, though, and as it should, the packaging includes the original cover art for the bonus EP's, all of the lyrics, etc.
Here's a smattering of tracks from several of the releases represented on the CD:
Detestation "Trash"
Detestation "White Trash Genocide"
Detestation "Day In Day Out"
If you missed out on this one the first time around, you might as well buy it straight from the label's massive distro of hardcore/punk gold. Enjoy:
Comments
I think consistant is an understatement, boring would be more on the spot. I mean all the songs they do sound the same! (Although many songs kick ass)
They are good but a little overrated I think.
12.9.2005 | By Anonymous
Oh I almost forgot! More of this kind of hardcore Andrew! Some posts on Swedish hardcore records maybe?
12.9.2005 | By Anonymous
Awesome band. My favorite release/song was their “Big White Pat on the Back” 7”, (plus the celtic frost cover on the b side).
12.9.2005 | By Jim
Im glad your posting some Crust, because I’ve always loved that style, but maybe there are better choices within that genre? Not everything crust is merely discharge inspired, downtuned punk. Not to say that I didn’t like these tracks, but I would love to hear some of the more creative crust bands out there. Like Dystopia, Iskra, Fighting Dogs, Tragedy.
12.10.2005 | By MaxThrash
detestation were pretty good, and not your typical crust dope in my ears. the vocals were quite uncommon too… what about DISRUPT?
12.30.2005 | By Panos