System Maintains: 3 Song Demo cassette
Uncompromising punk-metal from Charlotte, NC. The sound of your sketchy uncle's Metallica and Bathory tapes played through a wrecked boombox.
Our take: One of the most exciting new labels in recent memoryâRichmondâs Sex Fiend Abominationâbrings us a short but brilliant 3-song demo by this punky metal band from Charlotte, North Carolina. This tape dropped digitally a couple of months ago, and from the moment I hit play I was enthralled. I mean, the band says it all when they describe themselves as âyour sketchy uncleâs Metallica and Bathory tapes played through a wrecked boombox,â but that pithy description doesnât get at how unique that combination is and how great System Maintains is at throwing the right ingredients into the cauldron to create this poisonous brew. Regarding the âbroken boomboxâ part, the production here is a perfectly vintage-sounding, fuzzy scrawl akin to what contemporary punk bands who record on 4-track are producing⊠imagine the blown-out roar of Cicada or Shaved Ape, but metal. When the whole band plays at full intensity, it bleeds together into a wall of fuzz, but thereâs enough room in the production for the key riffs and vocal lines to stand out, particularly since the songs are often arranged so those parts get highlighted as instrumental breaks. As for the songs and riffs themselves, they are fucking killer. I had an epiphany at the gym after listening to this tape like 5 times in a row and pondering how they can write such great riffs⊠then it hit me: the killer riff that starts âFinal War,â the first song on the tape, is just a slightly reworked version of the intro to Metallicaâs âFor Whom the Bell Tolls.â And then the riff they play immediately after thatâwhich also totally shredsâIâm pretty sure I recognize from a D.R.I. song. Some people might worry about this, but not me. As I like to say, there are only 12 notes, and I donât need every band to reinvent the wheel. Even if there is source material for some of these riffs, the way System Maintains absorbs them into their neck-deep vibeâand creating that vibe is, I think, the real standout strength of this demoâcompletely transforms them. This is just thrilling, and by the time its 5-minute runtime is up, Iâm so stoked that the only thing I can think to do is play it again⊠and again, and againâŠ
Uncompromising punk-metal from Charlotte, NC. The sound of your sketchy uncle's Metallica and Bathory tapes played through a wrecked boombox.
Our take: One of the most exciting new labels in recent memoryâRichmondâs Sex Fiend Abominationâbrings us a short but brilliant 3-song demo by this punky metal band from Charlotte, North Carolina. This tape dropped digitally a couple of months ago, and from the moment I hit play I was enthralled. I mean, the band says it all when they describe themselves as âyour sketchy uncleâs Metallica and Bathory tapes played through a wrecked boombox,â but that pithy description doesnât get at how unique that combination is and how great System Maintains is at throwing the right ingredients into the cauldron to create this poisonous brew. Regarding the âbroken boomboxâ part, the production here is a perfectly vintage-sounding, fuzzy scrawl akin to what contemporary punk bands who record on 4-track are producing⊠imagine the blown-out roar of Cicada or Shaved Ape, but metal. When the whole band plays at full intensity, it bleeds together into a wall of fuzz, but thereâs enough room in the production for the key riffs and vocal lines to stand out, particularly since the songs are often arranged so those parts get highlighted as instrumental breaks. As for the songs and riffs themselves, they are fucking killer. I had an epiphany at the gym after listening to this tape like 5 times in a row and pondering how they can write such great riffs⊠then it hit me: the killer riff that starts âFinal War,â the first song on the tape, is just a slightly reworked version of the intro to Metallicaâs âFor Whom the Bell Tolls.â And then the riff they play immediately after thatâwhich also totally shredsâIâm pretty sure I recognize from a D.R.I. song. Some people might worry about this, but not me. As I like to say, there are only 12 notes, and I donât need every band to reinvent the wheel. Even if there is source material for some of these riffs, the way System Maintains absorbs them into their neck-deep vibeâand creating that vibe is, I think, the real standout strength of this demoâcompletely transforms them. This is just thrilling, and by the time its 5-minute runtime is up, Iâm so stoked that the only thing I can think to do is play it again⊠and again, and againâŠ
Original: $1,400.00
-70%$1,400.00
$420.00Description
Uncompromising punk-metal from Charlotte, NC. The sound of your sketchy uncle's Metallica and Bathory tapes played through a wrecked boombox.
Our take: One of the most exciting new labels in recent memoryâRichmondâs Sex Fiend Abominationâbrings us a short but brilliant 3-song demo by this punky metal band from Charlotte, North Carolina. This tape dropped digitally a couple of months ago, and from the moment I hit play I was enthralled. I mean, the band says it all when they describe themselves as âyour sketchy uncleâs Metallica and Bathory tapes played through a wrecked boombox,â but that pithy description doesnât get at how unique that combination is and how great System Maintains is at throwing the right ingredients into the cauldron to create this poisonous brew. Regarding the âbroken boomboxâ part, the production here is a perfectly vintage-sounding, fuzzy scrawl akin to what contemporary punk bands who record on 4-track are producing⊠imagine the blown-out roar of Cicada or Shaved Ape, but metal. When the whole band plays at full intensity, it bleeds together into a wall of fuzz, but thereâs enough room in the production for the key riffs and vocal lines to stand out, particularly since the songs are often arranged so those parts get highlighted as instrumental breaks. As for the songs and riffs themselves, they are fucking killer. I had an epiphany at the gym after listening to this tape like 5 times in a row and pondering how they can write such great riffs⊠then it hit me: the killer riff that starts âFinal War,â the first song on the tape, is just a slightly reworked version of the intro to Metallicaâs âFor Whom the Bell Tolls.â And then the riff they play immediately after thatâwhich also totally shredsâIâm pretty sure I recognize from a D.R.I. song. Some people might worry about this, but not me. As I like to say, there are only 12 notes, and I donât need every band to reinvent the wheel. Even if there is source material for some of these riffs, the way System Maintains absorbs them into their neck-deep vibeâand creating that vibe is, I think, the real standout strength of this demoâcompletely transforms them. This is just thrilling, and by the time its 5-minute runtime is up, Iâm so stoked that the only thing I can think to do is play it again⊠and again, and againâŠ
