The more uncertain the times, the more violent the reaction. A point proven in the eighties with the explosion of Hardcore and Thrash, and this self-titled debut by Oregon act Stress Test is like taking a step back into that time. A time when everyday existence meant the fear of war, disease and hate; a time when religion and politics were even more corrupt and depraved than certain types of criminals. The sad thing is though, you only have to spend thirty seconds watching the TV or doomscrolling through your news feed to see history repeating itself, only worse and often in more insidious ways.
So, if you’ve been screaming into the void for what seems to be an eternity, seeing in real time the blatant lies and utter hypocrisy spewing from the types of people you were taught to respect and trust, then step right up. If you’re sick to the pit of your stomach from all the gaslighting, intolerance and political grandstanding, then these all too brief fifteen minutes of unfiltered spleen-venting will at least make you realise you’re not alone.
This incendiary combination of Punk, Thrash, Hardcore, Crust and Crossover opens with “Boiling Point,” a half-minute of police sirens, news reports, religious hate and public unrest before a short, sharp “Get on the fucking ground!” precedes the equally abrupt blast of true opener “Degrees of Violence.”
“Coward” might open and close with a slow, brooding riff but the bit in the middle is like having your face torn off by a starving Rottweiler, frontman Brandon Hill (also of Unto Others) screaming and roaring until his vocal cords are left shredded. Let’s go Brandon, indeed. The anti-religious tirade of “Eternal Bliss” is total Punk chaos with Thrash riffs to muscle things up even more while “It Isn’t Real” is a relentless battery that lasts less than a minute and comes with a warning that sounds like a fifties PSA aimed towards domesticated housewives.
Loaded with spoken audio samples, “Suffer” is the longest track on the album and follows the cycle of work to death. “Bastard Behavior” features some serious drumming from Colin Vranizan, the self-explanatory “God Sucks” comes with a barbed “religion is a prison” refrain, and “Gullible” points its finger at conspiracy theorists, guitarist Adam Jennings slashing out the riffs with violent but precise abandon.
Bassist Dylan Morris is the title track’s true heartbeat, his four-string work throbbing underneath the Warbringer-style riffing while closer “Something Rather Than Nothing” begins with an honest-to-goodness melody before ripping into a riff that sounds like a pissed-off, fucked up “Deathrider” by Anthrax.
Extremism, religious fundamentalism, police brutality, and one-sided, hate-filled media outlets hell-bent on division are just some of the many readily available ingredients required for any society to crumble, and Stress Test grabs every one of them by the throat and holds them to account. The Times, They Are A-Raging.
Buy the album here:
https://stresstestpdx.bandcamp.com/album/stress-test
9 / 10
GARY ALCOCK
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