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Have you ever wondered what Celtic Frost would sound like as a hardcore punk band? Me neither. The idea of replacing Tom G. Warrior’s beanie with a cadet cap is ludicrous. But Chicago’s Like Rats have gone ahead and done it — and the results are tasty.
Guitarist Todd Nief, who is Weekend Nachos’ merch guy (Like Rats and Weekend Nachos share a member), runs the Primitive Future blog. In this post, he explains what he intended with Like Rats:
I love Tom G. Warrior’s signature riff composition style, and I tried to write riffs that evoke similar feelings without actually copying his techniques. There are a few self-imposed stylistic restrictions in order to keep the overall aesthetic within certain boundaries: no palm-muting, no double bass drum.
Interesting parameters, for sure. I wouldn’t have noticed them had Nief not mentioned them. The integration of Celtic Frost into a hardcore punk context is so seamless that the genre’s clichés fall away. The raspy vocals are a perfect midpoint between hardcore and black metal. This isn’t the hardcore punk of breakdowns and karate dances; it has more of an anything-goes ’80s vibe. I am totally feeling this. You can do so, too — download this demo for free here.
I have been looking for bands that mixe black metal with punk lately without much success. This manages not only to do that but to actually sound good which is a first (at least from what I have found so far). Awesome stuff.
Teitanblood-7 Chalices,Wormsblood-Master of creation, Amocoma-Go to hell, Barn Owl-From our mouths a perpetual light,Bone Awl-Meaningless leaningness…these are all punk infused black metal = nothing new.
kind of sounds similar to outbreak in parts.
Cosmo, thanks for the write-up. Certainly a pleasant surprise in my feeds today.
yeah man, I'm not sure about this band. try Onslaught Power from Hell. They mixed HC and venom/Celtic Frost black thrash back in 1985.
thomas, i'd suggest infernal stronghold. they really surprised me recently with godless noise.
and i am the only one who thinks early hellhammer just sounds like amebix being raped by venom? those early demos always struck me as more crust than metal.
check out Hotbild and Martyrdod from Sweden, similar aesthetic..
Good calls by all. Infernal Stronghold is strong stuff, as is Martyrdod. I don't get much of a hardcore vibe from Onslaught, though evidently their demos had more of that.