After a couple of months long hiatus from writing entries for the blog I'm back to talk about one of my all time favorite hardcore records, the first full length album from California's Sabertooth Zombie, 'Midnight Venom'. The amount of times I've listened to this record and still listen to it to this day is staggering. In my opinion it stands as one of the greatest punk/hardcore records of the 00's, a real heavy hitter with no weak spots to be found.
From the opening riff and impending stomp of opening track "D.O.A." all the way to the secret song that follows a few minutes of silence at the end of "Rat Bones", STZ keep the intensity and urgency that hardcore music is beloved for while taking several interesting musical turns as well. There's influence from many different genres of heavy music in here, but all unified under one signature sound. Honestly there aren't a ton of bands who I think really get the heavy metal influenced hardcore combination right, and a lot of the time there ends up being too much of one sound or the other and it drowns out the other end. STZ in my opinion really fucking nailed it with this record. It's got insane riffs that can almost feel straight out of a 70's classic rock freak out moment, while still lyrically maintaining the social and political leanings and "fuck you" attitude that makes punk music so essential. It gives the record a timeless quality that gives me that first time listen excitement no matter how many times I go back.
Future releases from STZ would see the band evolving their sound into something that still retained their roots but certainly moved further from the straight up venom (pun intended) that this record pushed so intensely. While the band certainly went on to craft many other amazing releases and cemented their status as one of the most unique and non conformist acts in the hardcore scene, Midnight Venom will always have a special place in my heart and is also responsible for getting me into many of their contemporaries in the bay area as well. Recently, Twelve Gauge Records has announced that a one time vinyl pressing of the album will be coming out sometime this year, with all proceeds going to Black Lives Matter. Hard to think of a better or more appropriate reason for such an amazing record to finally get a much needed vinyl pressing, and props to the band/label for doing what they can to help out an incredibly important cause. Keep an eye on their facebook and instagram pages for forthcoming details, and in the meantime blast this record loud and bang your fucking head.
