Detonators "Balls To You" CD
News From Nowhere - Hardworking, long-running, prolific and vastly underrated.
That sums up the career of the Detonators, who began in California in
the mid-1980s (where punk was huge) but
inexplicably decided to move to Eugene, Oregon (where punk was nearly
non-existent.) Who knows, maybe they wanted a challenge.
Maybe they would have been very popular if they'd stayed in California.
Maybe they didn't want to be popular.
Like I said, who knows? In any event, the Detonators made a lot of great
records.
The band considers the 1988 "Balls To You" album their best
effort, and I stand in agreement.
The Detonators hand-crafted fine, memorable punk rock tunes with a hardcore
flair, much in the tradition of
D.O.A., Toxic Reasons, Social Unrest and the Canadian Subhumans.
Strong guitar riffs and simple vocal lines are the Detonators' bread and
butter, yet each song is uniquely its own.
There is no cookie-cutter workmanship here.
You get the feeling they really put some effort into making good songs
and not repeating themselves musically.
They also knew enough not to sacrifice songwriting for speed.
I'm not saying these songs are slow -- they are all played at just the
right speed, what some might call upper-mid tempo.
Had they been played too fast, they'd lose some of the catchiness. The
vocals are gruff, but have a certain cadence that keeps the songs jogging
along.
Imagine the singer of Capitol Punishment with a bit more range and sensibility.
I really love hardcore/punk of this flavor.
This is perfect music for driving, skating, skanking or perhaps dusting
your bedroom.
This reminds me of Agent 86, another very good and overlooked Oregon band.
Very well done and thoroughly enjoyable.
I would also like to point out that the band reissued this on their own
and are selling it very cheaply.
Punk.
(BS)
YOU CAN PURCHASE A COPY OF THE BALLS TO YOU C.D.FROM
Detonators "Live In Hope" 7"
Detonators "Sonic Manifesto" 7"
(News From Nowhere)
Two new Detonators records
with four songs each equals eight
reasons to believe in hardcore. Yeah,
I was pretty stoked to find these
babies in my PO Box this morning.
These tracks were recorded in
1991 but never released until now.
Many of the lyrics on these two
records reflect the socio-political
climate of the early 1990s. There's
"21 Pigs," a great song about Rodney
King, and "Slicksters" about the
sellouts who poisoned underground
music forever. (Thanks, Nirvana!)
In the last issue of Burn
Brandon, I wrote a lengthy review of
the Detonators "Balls To You" CD, a
reissue of their 1988 LP. If you have
heard "Balls To You," then you'll find
that these two new records are pretty
much in the same style.
Musically, it is fair to say
that the Detonators can be compared to
early D.O.A. and Toxic Reasons, but a
bit faster and angrier. Their gift
for writing killer riffs will have you
pounding your fists on the nearest
table or Republican. Their penchant
for shout-along choruses will have you
-- er,shouting along. The Detonators
write anthems. There's no thrash
here, Mr. Speedy -- just mid to upper
tempo 1980s style hardcore. No blast
beats, no break downs, no absurd mosh
parts and absolutely NO METAL. (I
miss the days when punks thought
"metal" was a dirty word.) The vocals
are tough, hoarse and sincere.
Sincerity -- that's something I
haven't heard much of lately. (You
hear me, you dyed black hair, giant
ear plug wearing, angel tattoos on
your arm, girlie-shirt wearing, wallet
chain motherfuckers?) They really
don't make bands like this anymore,
but they should.
(BS)
YOU CAN PURCHASE BOTH 7"S FROM