GASMASK VIOLENCE / VUOHI: "Hatred United"

On this brief yet fast-paced split CD named Hatred United, that almost literally runs for just 15 minutes, Gasmask Violence and Vuohi meet and provide a few songs of tongue-in-cheek metal & rock attitude.

Gasmask Violence hasn't released anything else before, so this is their first appearance, and I'm not sure do they make a positive impression on yours truly. Their music revolves around simple dirty Motörhead esque rock with punk influences (a lot of d-beats), no more, no less. The songs barely reach the two minute mark and are over sooner than you realize, but then again, I guess it's only a good thing that this kind of music is kept at short bursts instead of a prolonged full-length. The sound and overall attitude are all spot on, but it's then a different thing what I personally think of this kind of music in general. I can not help but think of some young comrades drinking beer in their rehearsal basement and recording a few far-from-profound songs that, at the time of their playing and recording under slight influence, sound so ass kicking. But in truth there's next to zero innovation here, and while there's not necessarily anything wrong with that, I don't see any reason why I'd pick up a Gasmask Violence record when I could just go to a local bar anytime and see some youngsters doing the same thing. ”Heavy Metal Is Dangerous” is kind of the last nail into the coffin right in the beginning when that spoken 'this is Harley Davidson' intro appears.

Vuohi is a more familiar band as it hasn't been a long time when I reviewed their previous demo The Rising Era of Goat, a decent piece of raging black / death / grind mixture. Things start rather promisingly with ”Retaliation” that combines the melancholic tremolo work of black metal with raw and furious grindcore. But after this, Vuohi's material changes to somewhat similar spirit with Gasmask Violence. In practice it doesn't mean any punk or rock, but what it does mean is three cover songs of half-serious originals, like the every teenager's favourite ”Vitutuksen Multihuipennus” by Impaled Nazarene which I happen to loathe. All this, plus my general negative attitude towards cover songs, makes a rather unenjoyable whole, save the first song.

Needless to say at this point, Hatred United wasn't really my thing. Gasmask Violence's take was very basic metallic rocking punk or something along those lines, and Vuohi unfortunately resorts to cover songs except for that one original song which is the split's highlight. Those looking for less-serious metal may find Hatred United more convincing, but I guess I'm just a too boring person for this.

2 / 5