Horns First

Shit the Cow ~ Rissna (2014)

Shit the Cow are back, Jay gave us the rundown on their release from last year "Salt of the Earth". This time the self-proclaimed scrapyard rockers (or skrotrock in Swedish, which does have a ring to it) are back with "Rissna", named for a town in the north of Sweden where they go to record. Their sound is a straight forward one, they really just take the best things in Punk, Garage, and Stoner Rock and boil it down to it's rawest form, then blast it at full volume. Always ready with something catchy to suck you in, sometimes it's a chorus, a riff, sometimes it's the whole damn track. From start to finish it's five songs full of rocking drum rhythms, heavy and infectious guitar riffs, rolling bass parts that keeps everything glued together nicely. The vocalist often uses the shouted style of delivery, changing it subtly depending on the song, but it can go from an angry, anthemic Punk Rock shout, to melodic and raw vocals that harken back to the early days of Stoner Rock. My favorite song on this release is probably the closer, "Pieces of Led", it's a blast of fast and hard Stoner Rock in the vein of Fu Manchu's glory days. Opening with a fuzzy riff, it doesn't take long for the groove to kick in, with a fat and round bass line leading the way. At just under two minutes it ends way too fast, but for those two minutes you're taken in by the perfectly executed Stoner Rock track, and it doesn't loosen its' death grip until the end. They seem to excel at never painting themselves into a corner on their releases, always having something different ready to go when the song changes. It would seem that the group took the expression "variety is the spice of life" to heart, and they're absolutely right if it makes you churn out rock songs as good as these. Go check out their bandcamp, and get in on it for the small price tag of just a couple bucks. Don't forget to check out their older releases too, as they have yet to put out anything that wasn't good.
~Skip

For Fans Of; Fu Manchu, Switchblade Jesus, Brain Police

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Way Out West...

Shit The Cow ~ Salt Of The Earth (2013)

We've seen our fair share of, lets say 'unique' band names over the years. Undead Viking Mafia, Vintage Cucumber, Dickkicker, Battle Pope... The list goes on. But few have made me choke on my whiskey quite as much as Sweden's Shit The Cow. I've not delved into the origins of the name and don't really intend to, solely because I quite like retaining the mystique. But try as many have, a band can't travel on a name alone. That being said, I have had a long burning desire to start a band called Mongoloid Porn Inferno, without giving much thought to any kind of material or genre. Anyway, Shit The Cow and their Salt Of The Earth EP. It's just a short one at a total of four tracks, but goddamn they've made good use of 10 minutes. Diversity alone, these guys have really gone to town. Opening track The Decline Of Western Civilisation bursts and churns with a heavy southern rock fury right from the opening bars. It's truly one of the best opening tracks I've heard all year and instantly grabs you by the fluff of the scroat. Sadly it's a little shorted lived, but as the EP progresses it twists and turns picking up more and more influences with everything passing minute. The backbone of the whole recording falls very much within the garage rock side of things. The LO-FI tone playing a forever present part throughout all 4 tracks, dipping in and out of grunge and even a distinct hint of punk, predominately the west coast variety, to which, by my own admission, I'm not a authority on. But, to me at least it does feel like it plays out a bit like a 90's road trip up and down the US's Pacific side. Picking up subtle inspiration and nuances from the likes of Nirvana, The Melvins, Suicidal Tendencies, Fu Manchu, Black Flag and Mudhoney. It works really damn well, but I can't help but feel the guys have a real knack for the heavier, riff orientated side of things. Fingers crossed the next time they find themselves heading towards the studio they'll have this in mind.
~ Jay

For Fans Of; Suicide Machines, Switchblade Jesus, Blowback, Emanuel, The Grand Astoria

Website • SoundCloud • Bandcamp

Volume/Cow ($1) • Salt Of The Earth ($1)

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