ATU - Black Sands

Posted by Val on 15th Feb 2012

A KILLER new 7” from those crusty West Virginia mountain punks known as APPALACHIAN TERROR UNIT. Uncompromising and in your face as always, these guys really pull no punches when it comes to expressing just how they feel. With songs that range from drug addiction to the destruction of sensitive ecosystems along the U.S. gulf coast by the Deepwater Horizon blowout and subsequent oil spill, ATU again show their passion and devotion to calling out injustice in our world. There are lots of styles coming together on this great little record, with an anarcho-punk background layered with some thrashier parts, slightly metally bits, some crusty heavyness and some good ol’ hard driving rock. I love the back and forth style that the vocalist use to great effect on the track The End Of Complacency. It made me think of AUS-ROTTEN but heavier! The guitars totally shred with alternating buzzsaw and air raid attack, the drums throb and pulse with unrelenting fury and the vocals are spit with such urgent ferocity and fervor that you know that ATU mean business.
The artwork is a painful look at a crude oil covered pelican presiding over the death and destruction in her marshlands. A sad expression of a scene that probably was commonplace after the great spill.
Great riffs, great lyrics, great production. Just go get it. It rages.