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Driller Killer “Fuck the World” and “Reality Bites”...

Driller Killer - Fuck the WorldNext up in the set of Driller Killer reissues from Crimes Against Humanity Records is their third full-length (originally released in 1997), "Fuck the World". And it's with this album that I'm faced with the possibility that perhaps one of the reasons I was never a big Driller Killer fan may have been because, well... Driller Killer simply has some absolutely fucking terrible artwork on many of their albums, and this one in particular is guilty... as... charged. Does that have anything to do with the quality of the music? Hell no. But just look at that thing, man! Give me a break! Anyway, this time around it's 16 short (none reaching three minutes), fast tracks in about 33 minutes. Gruff, burly vocals over a metal-tinged take on crust-ish hardcore/punk driven by basic power chords and scorching lead breaks—here given a little more of an energetic kick in the ass thanks to loads of speed and a subtly rocked out kind of vibe. Less Discharge, more Motörhead perhaps. Even the lyrics abandon most of the socio-political types of topics in favor of straight up bitterness and pessimistic attitudes, at times rather direct and, well, kinda humorous, too:

You burn churches, you paint your face, spend Xmas at mom's, what a fuckin' disgrace. Blind, naked, and covered with shit. If bullshit had a value you'd be a billionaire, empowered by the dark, bloody lame nightmare.

This one's pretty damn consistent, so that about does it, really.

Driller Killer "HS.69"
Driller Killer "I Couldn't Care Less"

Pick it up straight from the label if you're a fan:

Crimes Against Humanity






Driller Killer - Reality BitesAnd again from Crimes Against Humanity Records is a reissue of the fourth Driller Killer album from 1998, "Reality Bites", which—if nothing else—has better cover art than the last one! But seriously, there are actually some distinct differences between the two albums on a musical level. First off, whereas "Fuck the World" was actually quite crisply produced, this time around things take a step back towards the slightly rawer recording techniques of the band's earlier work, though stylistically they're still moving away from the Discharge angle with longer songs and a hell of a lot more tempo changes throughout. Make no mistake, there's still plenty of relentless speed, but there's also a ton of awesomely crunchy midpaced riffing and palm-muted chugging that comes as a bit of a surprise. And there's still a punk rock sort of energy to everything, it's just that a lot of it definitely comes across with more of a metallic sort of influence. This doesn't sound like The Exploited, but it does sort of have a comparable form of that "punk metal" aesthetic happening in terms of the general vibe. I don't necessarily think the songs need to fall in the three- to four-minute minute range as opposed to the one- to three-minute range (this album's 10 minutes longer than "Fuck the World", despite containing two fewer tracks), but that's not a big deal. The vast majority of the band's output could use some serious work in the presentation department (even when the cover art's decent most of the layouts look pretty damn weak), but I have to say that musically they're fairly solid regardless of what little twists and turns they take with each subsequent album.

Driller Killer "...The Phanatix"
Driller Killer "God Forgives"

And again, the label's cheap, so grab a copy from them if you're into the tracks:

Crimes Against Humanity