lista zespołów Hardcore Cro-Mags Best Wishes

With this followup to the mighty impressive and also legendary debut masterpiece in NYHC history, the Hare Krishna boys deliver with the same intensity albeit deviating more towards heavy metal this time. Best Wishes has managed to create a unique niche of its own without sounding like a replica of any of the bands on the LA front. With its crisp production and solid musicianship this one’s become one of my all time favorite records and gets atleast two spins every week. The record packs a certain punch that is clearly identifiable and is capable of demolishing pretty much all the pretty boy competition out there. Cro-Mags have done it again.

Starting off with “Death Camps” this one’s a treat for both moshers and punks. The hardcore delivery caters to the latter while the metal sound to the former. The drums pound mercilessly and the solos are slick and crisp. “Days Of Confusion” carries a starting riff that is slightly reminiscent of a certain song done by Chicago thrashers Cyclone Temple called “Sister Christian” and one which I became a huge fan of. This one too pretty much carries the same hardcore meets metal touch with no leanings towards either one genre in particular. The next track “The Only One” is a real catchy tune with that destructive riff, awesome bass intro and vocals done in a not so common way that shows a clear thrash metal side to this band. The fastest track on the album “Down But Not Out” is one furious slab of insanity and is likely to set any mosh pit on fire.

The next two tracks namely “Crush The Demoniac” and “Fugitive”are slightly different but still carry a fair deal of genuinity with some creative riffwork that keep the interest and adrenalin level right up there. “Then And Now” is more or less a funk meets hardcore track with a few thrash riffs thrown in to good effect. Now comes the real piece of the pie taker of a track “Age of Quarrel” which is also the name of their brilliant debut album. My reaction upon listening to this track was something like “Holy mother, what a crazy main riff!!!” This is a trendsetter and defines their political opinions in the best possible way. The chugging guitar work and drums accentuate extremely well.

So what are you waiting for? Get this album if you couldn’t get enough of “Age of Quarrel”. This one goes out to all those old school punks and crossover/thrash maniacs who need their vitriolic dosage on a regular basis. Awesome stuff!!