Parts Unknown may be my favorite hardcore label right now. Their latest offering Philistine from Dry-Rot is another ripping, quirky slab of HC punk, and comes from a band that includes two brothers who are professed Christians, a detail that seems to have generated a bit of conversation on the web (this particular corner of hardcore being pretty anti-religious), but this isn�t "Christian hardcore", especially not in the Tooth And Nail/Solidstate sense, there's nothing in the lyrics or music that would lead you to believe that this was a Christian band at all (aside from the weird baptismal imagery on the album cover), but the member�s faith and their intelligent discussion of it in punk zines like Maximum Rock and Roll is an interesting part of the band's background, considering how fucking weird and raging there music is. Dry-Rot�s mutant hardcore is a combo of inscrutably surreal lyrics, bizarre artwork, and warped dadaist thrash that I�ve seen compared to 80's DC hardcore weirdos United Mutation, definitely a good reference point for Dry-Rot's often maniacal HC, but with a lot of lysergic Butthole Surfers style psychedelic noisiness, too. These guys fit right in with the rest of the Parts Unknown roster; fans of Snake Apartment, Pissed Jeans, Homostupids and Violent Students will probably love this.
Philistine is the first full length from the band, with fourteen tracks that go from weirdo dub-punk to super fast mangled thrashcore to arty improv punk, with vocals that are all over the place, one minute shrieking like a maniac, the next belting out a brain-damaged croon, and the guitarist goes for whacked out, spacey effects more than actual riffs half of the time, generating these weird electronic effects that add to Dry-Rot's frenzied psychedelic hardcore sound. Songs often stop and start abruptly, with more than a little bit of SST-style jazzoid weirdness going on; hardly a coincidence as drummer Tony Cicero used to play in Saccharine Trust back in the 90's. There's also a lot of Greg Ginn-esque guitar skronk, and some freaked-out Hendrixian acid guitar, weird poppy parts, jazzy basslines, all put together with fucked-up unpredictable song arrangements. Along with the aforementioned Butthole Surfers and United Mutation, other comparisons include Die Kruezen, Void, and the weirdo hardcore band Condominium that I've also written up in this week's new arrivals list. Comes in a full color jacket with printed inner sleeve and a full color poster.