As the 21st century opens, punk rock is beset upon all sides by emo kids, Blink 182 pop-punk clones, and stoner rock. In spite of all this, it's quite nice to see that some bands are capable of coming up with a record which harkens back to the power and speed of early-'80s hardcore punk.
Very Metal, with their ironic name, play anthemic, spirited, and actually melodic hardcore punk. Explosive, tight, fueled by pounding drums, they actually play tunes, as opposed to just screaming and banging on a guitar. As some of the early hardcore punk bands did, there are some metal tinges to a few of the tracks, but no genre change ever takes place. Think
Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Fear. Good stuff. ~ Jeremy Salmon