Deez Nuts have truly brought the chug in another hectic collection of hardcore tracks for the #hashtag generation. Lyrically, Deez Nuts are the heftiest dose of teenage rebellion that Australian alt music has going for it. It’s simple, it’s juvenile but it’s ridiculously catchy. Gratuitous glorification of partying, alcohol and drug consumption fill each track alongside the continuous call to scream “fuck you!” at all authority (and get blazed doing it).
The album opens with the titular track, laying groundwork in typical Deez fashion with familiarly distorted chord progressions, before descending into slower, chugging verses. This is a trend across the entire record. The band seems to be spreading its wings within the ‘core’ component of the genre, if ever so slowly. However, with frontman J.J. Peters at the helm, we haven’t lost an inch of what makes this band such an asset to the Aussie hardcore scene.
Shot After Shot shoves that in our face – an old-school hardcore punk influence threaded in with teenage lyricism to feed the throngs of adolescent admirers. That’s not to say Deez can’t meet the needs of a more mature audience but, in terms of expanding the hardcore scene in a positive direction, this 4-piece is all we could ask for.
The force-feeding of increased doses of chug alluded to earlier is handed over like a punch to the throat in Not A Face In The Crowd and Keep On. The full-frontal aggression backed by breakdown after breakdown tips the scales so far in the way of heaviness that it often treads the line of metalcore, before 2-stepping right back into the throes of hardcore punk.
Popular Demand, a guaranteed crowd favourite, is so ludicrously catchy in its gang vocals it might even outweigh the in-your-face ego that the Aussie outfit throw our way throughout the record. They know they’re good at what they do, and they’re not letting it go.
Call To Arms is as succinct and effective in stirring the teenage generation into action as it could possibly be. The 14 seconds of almost unintelligible thrash is a brief insight into the genuine driving anger that gives this band heart beyond the hardcore facade.
That soundbite (a term probably more apt than song) is followed by What WE Eat Don’t Make YOU Shit. This track is about as political as Deez gets. It’s the soul of Enter Shikari or While She Sleeps delivered effortlessly through the medium of rapcore. It’s crude, it’s rude, it’s brash. It’s an elbow to the face from adolescents to the world. Deez Nuts holds nothing back in their anti-authoritarian aggression. This album is a fuck you to everything.
The record then thrashes through Streets Are Watching, Unfuckwithable and Life You Live. Each track develops further upon the heavier sound thrashed out in the first half of the record, even managing to throw in some genuine lead shreds here and there.
We also have a contender for hardest track of all time to chant for – the 4-second long I.D.K.W.Y.T.Y.A.B.I.K.W.D.G.A.F.A.Y.
Finally, the record ends with Band Of Brothers, a breath of fresh air and a welcome surprise. We won’t say much more than that it is definitely one of the highlights of the album and a true credit to Deez Nuts as more than just a hardcore band.
Bout It is a massive step forward for both Deez Nuts and the entire Aussie hardcore scene. If you are into heavy music, support some exceptionally talented local dudes and pick this up March 29th.
