3.10.2014

CRUMBSUCKERS - "Life Of Dreams"

Artist:  Crumbsuckers
Song:  Bullshit Society
Album:  Life Of Dreams
Year:  1986
Genre:  Crossover / Thrash / Hardcore

When hardcore punk and thrash metal decided to put aside their differences and play nicely in the sandbox together, one of my absolute favorite music genres was spawned; Crossover.  Soon after discovering this amalgamation, my collection quickly filled with the likes of C.O.C., The Accused, D.R.I., Cryptic Slaughter, Attitude Adjustment, (mid 80s) Agnostic Front, Excel, S.O.D., No Mercy, Wehrmacht and so many other bands that completely changed my musical outlook.  It even changed my fashion.  Nothing but flipped brims, skate shoes and ratty looking t-shirts from then on!  The band that rose to the top of the mountain of records I amassed was The Crumbsuckers.  I read about The Crumbsuckers in a fanzine that praised them so highly and heavily, it created a “do or die” search for a record that was not very well distributed.  Finally, I located a cassette copy of Life Of Dreams and it skyrocketed beyond the high praise I read.   This record is super; super fast, super mean and super tight.  It’s a perfect combination of hardcore’s aggression and attitude, metal’s technical structure and mechanics, and punk’s social consciousness. Two-minute atomic bombs in the form of songs fill this album from start to finish.  Chris's voice was like no other out there and he was well schooled in the Kurt Brecht style of only singing every third word or so 'cause the music was so fast.  Other than the first couple Bad Brains releases, I’m not sure I own another record that contains such precise instrumentation that doesn’t overshadow its street-level punk integrity.  Usually one is sacrificed for the other; which is exactly what they did on their less than stellar second record, B.O.M.B.  Doesn’t matter.  Life Of Dreams is such a superior release, there was no need to try to make part two.  Although, I wouldn’t have minded hearing them try!

Listen to "Bullshit Society" here.

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