Choking Victim - No Gods, No Managers

Awesome.

I found this album in the back seat of my friend's car the other day and asked if I could borrow it. I hadn't listened to it in years, and was curious as to how it would hold up after all this time. All I can say is, this album is one of the best punk albums I have ever heard. "500 Channels" is probably the raddest punk song ever, with a KILLER bass line. "Suicide (A Better Way)" is also a major highlight. Most of the songs on this album are top-notch, and even the few weaker tracks are still pretty good. Their vibe is awesome as well...the whole death metal aesthetic mixed with the punk/ska vibes. It's unique, to say the least.

I would definitely recommend this album on the energy of the band's musicianship alone. Some of the lyrics are crap, but they were based on the band's crack cocaine-gobbling lifestyle and petty hatred for authority. If that's what they believe, then fine. Say what you want about Choking Victim, but they were one of the rare bands that actually based the extremities what they expressed in their music on the extreme lifestyle they lead. But the sheer energy of this record is intense. They could sing about bestiality and social security fraud for all I care...if the music is this rockin' all the time, I'll just nod my head and smile. A true blast of punk energy which harkens back to when punk wasn't just about having a bad attitude, but writing awesome songs as well. I wish I had paid more attention to these guys when they were still around. November 9, 2008

Creamy Goodness

If I had any faith in the human race, I would be astonished that this cd doesn't have a 5-star rating. If you have any love for punk rock, own this cd. August 31, 2008

Lower East Side Squatter Punk Rock!

I have heard of this band for years but I resisted listening to them. My loss because they are excellent. I especially love Crack Rock Steady. That is my new favorite song. Engaging punk rock with a ska beat. totally sublime. August 14, 2008

Ya don't hafta be chokin to become a victim

As much as I love LoC, I have to say its really impossible for anything to compete with Choking Victim. Unlike LoC this is straight punk/ska no experimental death metal and stuff. This CD is so incredible its amazing. 500 Channels, Crack Rock Steady, Suicide, F--ked Reality, Hate Yer State, F--k America, War Story, and Five Finger Discount are the highlights of the album. The music is incredible and catchy and the scummy vocals work perfectly for this band. The lyrics are violent, nihilistic, and downright seditious which really seals the deal for me. 5 stars. May 5, 2006

Oxymoronic recording

Yes I am fully aware there will be lil' punk kids unhappy and vengeful when my 2 star rating brings down the overall score of a beloved nasty punk album that lots of lil' angry punk kids probably still love. I was thinking about the signifigance of this particular album this morning. I will explain my crummy rating, which I think is an accurate and deserving score for this oxymoronic album which for me bookends an overblown era of music for that matter.

The 90's did NOT do good things for the genre of Punk rock. The endless marketing, promotion and hunt for the next year's sizzling hot "Warped Tour roster" completely sterilized the attitude and creativity of a genre known for it's lack of comprimise. If I still accurately recall this album came out at the tail end of the decade and was one of the last "decent" ripples of punk rock attitude as the genre headed into seriously embarrassing times. I too heard the kinetic catchy bass line to the "500 channels" song somewhere in 98', complete with it's grimy references to smoking rock, shooting dope and spewing nihilism, vomit and apathy everywhere. All of this sudden I had a small glimmer of hope that a dark and eerie NYC squat punk band could save the fire of "Punk" from the corporate pillaging of the 90's and remind everyone of the genre's core. I held faith in this particular band. I admired some of their choices early on and I even traveled to "less than pleasant" neighborhoods to see them and the Post-CV era Leftover Crack / INDK bands live.

For my ears, that "500 Channels" song was the peak. It never really delivers beyond that song. I am now 30 and I still like that song, but this band fell down the stairs! My old faith in a band with the potential of a Sex Pistols comparison from the NYC squat scene was dismantled. This recording still reeks of all the studio polish and slick production of a bogus Rancid album that tries to claim it's from the "street". I KNOW someone is going to debate me otherwise, but in my ears this album is all bark and no bite. It is not uncomprimising like an early Slayer album (and they were SIGNED to a major label). It is predictable, carefully fine tuned, stamped with the "Hell-Cat" logo and padded out with some just plain bad songs (practically everything after track #1) . This album is in reality no different than the countless other has-been ska-punk disks of the 90's that people will "recall from their youth" saying they were into it "first" (yawn).

Am I disappointed? Yes. I thought Choking Victim could have been more. Maybe it's tougher than I thought to be a "punk" band. Maybe I wanted them to be better. Oh well.

March 30, 2006

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