Originally written by Erik Thomas
It takes balls to name your band Dishammer, but when you pull off a Discharge / Hellhammer combo of crusty, primal blackened punk noise this convincingly, you go right ahead. All they’re missing is a “Motör,” “Head” or “Throne” in there somewhere.
Hailing from Spain, of all places, Dishammer is comprised of members of the Spanish underground scene, notably including Machetazo and Like Peter at Home. The unholy racket delivered on the twelve songs that comprise this re-issue are filthy, crusty beatdowns that blow by in 30 minutes of filthy, skin-grazing power chords and rasps.
I can’t speak as to how (or if) this version differs from the original 2008 release, as I’m reviewing a digital promo and I have not heard that earlier version. Regardless, the material I’m listening to rocks my balls off with a fuzzed-out, feedback-drenched assault that actually left scratch marks and scrapes on my body. I might need a tetanus shot. The songs aren’t just infectious metaphorically, but also musically. The upbeat punk backbone of the likes of “Exterminate the Parasite”, “Into the Bong” and “Wish of Suffering” collides with the nasty, thrashing, old-school “In the Shadow of the Horns”-ish lurch of “Age of Disgrace” and the title track and the snarling “The End Here and Now”. The result is a brutal, no-holds-barred album that sounds like a back-alley knife fight between all the bands mentioned in the opening paragraph and a swarm of drug-crazed feral cats. The production is purely analog and sounds gritty and suitably live, making for a intensely personal listening experience. The nihilistic throes of the music is pretty well personified in the cover art, and from what I gather, the equally dark artwork within the CD.
Honestly, there’s not much point in embellishing my review or trying to flower it up with wit or clever prose. This thing just kicks ass and smells like a sex dungeon opium den.
