ASPHYXIUM ZINE

Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Full Length Review: JOE DEMOLITION "An Acoustic Assault In The Key Of GG" (Here to Ruin Your Groove Records) by Jorge A. Trejos

Artist: Joe Demolition
Location: Long Island, New York
Country: USA
Genre: Acoustic punk
Format: Streaming
Release date: December 18, 2019
This is a ten cover song album with acoustic arrangements to songs from the wide (but uncreative) discography of the most eschatological and transgressive punk-shocker of the whole Gringo Punk Rock scene. Born as Jesus Christ Allin (the name is not a joke), then renamed Kevin Michael and a long time after, known by his stage name of GG Allin. To a large extent, the massive media coverage and exposure given to GG by documentaries such as “Hated” (directed by Todd Phillips, the same dude who shot Joker) managed to raise his figure to cult status. I can't tell why people feel so attracted to his stamp of a troglodyte wearing diapers who recently escaped from a mental institution. He delivers an aural and visual Molotov Cocktail where the music goes to the background and the curtain opens to welcome the performance of “artistic” shocking. Because Allin, more than a musician; was an involuntary incendiary influencer of the pre-Internet era, his advertising gimmick was to coax the audience through show-shock values. Perhaps, many won't pay to see a frontman who appears naked on stage with a purple-black eye, a bleeding nose, shitty and vomited all over just to fight his fans. That doesn't sound like the best way to spend your money, but fortunately for GG Allin, the freaks and the weirdos sell sometimes.
Now, a cover is cool, but a whole acoustic set of covers? Well yes... and you don't have to precisely be a genius to catch up with a bunch of GG Allin's tunes and filled them up with an acoustic guitar. But in fact, that's what this album is all about and the credit is for Joe Demolition. He's a punk-rocker from the Long Island, NY scene, who plays for LYNCH PIGS, a group cataloged as punk/scum rock, a label specially marked by the politically incorrect and sometimes very offensive tone of the lyrics. Let's say that this almost non-existent subgenre has GG as his godfather, but if we scrutinize more quickly, we find bands like THE MENTORS (although they are self-proclaimed Rape Rock, how sweet), ANTiSEEN, the same MURDER JUNKIES (The old band of GG with his brother Merle) EAT MY FUK, among many others. However, it is one thing to have a big dirty mouth, and a very different thing is to take all that into praxis, just as GG Allin did, whose lyrics, or better; more than lyrics, they were a bunch of nonsense words sweetened with Jim Beam bourbon and who knows what else hallucinogenic substances, that left no puppet with a head. However, despite everything said, musical anti-heroes like GG Allin are needed on the scene since they represent an antithesis of the music industry, which is most of the time packed with artist-preachers with big egos who pretend to tell people what is the agenda of political correctness, but at the end, the only thing they care about is to bill green American dollars.
On the other hand, the first song that opens this acoustic tribute is: “Die When You Die” whose lyrics sang about “The faggots with AIDS are all gonna fry. You stuck it up an ass tonight now we're gonna die” or how about this other pearl: “You've got Cancer? So go fuckin 'die. If you got AIDS spread it around and take some lives”. But all that of course, can be taken too seriously, it should be taken more as a blackly humorous way to promote artistic anti-value. Likewise, I must emphasize that the voice of Joe D. is quite similar to the tune of GG Allin, which has a great general effect throughout the album. By the way, this record was edited in late December 2019 by the German label Here to Ruin Your Groove Recs, specialized in Scum/Punk bands. If you want to browse them, please go and check their Bandcamp profile for more info. I, in particular, have laughed and shocked a bit with tracks like “I'm Gonna Rape You”, “Hangin 'Out With Jim”, “Outlaw Scumfuc” or “I Wanna Fuck Myself” the latter, which deals with a GG Allin who is no longer satisfied with being with women, so he has chosen to practice himself a fistfuck. For my part, I think there are other better ways to fuck yourself and these are not properly sexual if you know what I mean. Finally, this acoustic album could be mandatory for GG Allin fans who want to add something weird and fun to their collection. Not sure if this album is available on CD or Vinyl since the label doesn't clear that, although you can also listen to the complete album on Joe Demolition’s Bandcamp. -Jorge A. Trejos

Lineup:
Joe Demolition: Vocals, guitar

Track list:
1. Die When You Die
2. Gypsy Motherfucker
3. Hangin' Out With Jim
4. Rowdy Beer Drinkin' Night
5. I'm Gonna Rape You
6. I Wanna Fuck Myself
7. Cunt Sucking Cannibal
8. Livin' Like An Animal
9. When I Die
10. Violence Now
11. Outlaw Scumfuc


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