Destruction Unit : "Negative Feed back Resistor"

After some white noise this Arizona band kicks up the desert dust and bombards you with punk rock. Last time around these guys were more like garage rock that was emotionally rough around the edges , this time it's way more punk with little post to it aside from some noise that gives it more atmosphere than old school  one, two three go ...punk. The second song has more attitude and is even more punk than the first. The riff to "Salvation" holds the same blistered sleaze a the Stooges "1970". Lower more spoken vocals drift into the verse. In the songs last two minutes they take you down the rabbit hole into a dark more melodic passage with more modern psychedelic tendencies with under lying aggression. With song titles like "Chemical Reaction /Chemical Delight" it is not surprise that surreal doses of trippy atmosphere will haunt this album like unexpected acid flash back. The take a darker turn at times. The vocals are angrier even under the narcotic blanket of noise the songs are often under, perhaps this is foreshadowing to the fact that they are going to return to the punk blasting. The lower more post-punk vocals they have employed in the past are sporadic and more Iggy Pop and less Ian Curtis.

They dip down into a much darker place for "Animal". The moody bass line sets the stage for a more Nick Cave like vocal to snarl out from the dismal murk that they build up into a more driving rock fuzz. It is of course one of my favorite songs on the album. They strum a few chords before kicking in the door on "Judgement Day". The production is dense and the layers create a very claustrophobic feeling to the album, like not only are the wall melting but they are also closing in on you."If Death Ever Slept" is another burly punk number that starts off in your face and doesn't give you room to breathe until the end.

The album closes with "Upper Hand" that clocks in as the longest song, it add a bit of Butthole Surfers like groove to things as they bust into more desert punk. There is more of an old school punk sneer to this one than perhaps every one but the second. They do not lack energy on this album, but do not explore the sense of dynamics they have had on past albums in their need to pummel you with the primal power of punk. I like more post than punk, so that is the snag on this one for me. I'll still give it a 7 as they do throw together some unique sounds and if I am going to listen to punk then it will be something more along these lines.