Personal Damage: Violent Ritual cassette

Description

Hardcore Punk from Los Angeles

Our take: The third EP from this LA hardcore punk band is yet another ripper. While its tempting to compare Personal Damage to the titans of catchy, 80s-style hardcore punk that came from their part of the world, the two bands that Personal Damage reminds me of most are from Boston: Gang Green and the Freeze. While Personal Damages demo was more on the Gang Green end, Violent Ritual leans more toward the Freezes sound on This Is Boston Not LA and Guilty Face. Like the Freeze, Personal Damage writes memorable tunes, and also like the Freeze they play almost all of them at blinding tempos. The call and response chorus in Banned From Society is designed to have you singing along immediately, and it succeeds. The searing, Agent Orange-inspired guitar lead is icing on the cake. The trick with this style is to keep it from sounding like pop-punk, and Personal Damages off-the-charts snot factor and their commitment to playing as fast and as hard as possible keep them on the right side of that line. Sadly, this isnt streaming online anywhere, so youll have to take my word about how hard it rips. I wouldnt steer you wrong, would I?