It’s been nine years since the release of Mugshot’s debut album, “Dull Boy”. Nine years
of spin kicking music to break a homies neck to, nine whole years of representing the
underground metallic hardcore scene by lighting those crowds up with banger after banger, and
yet, despite it all, the gang is just getting started. By now, most artists would have switched it up.
Turnstile, for example, just recently dropped the softest hardcore album ever written, and it
seems that the trend of softening over the years is just as strong as ever… but not for Mugshot.
No, even after all this time, Mugshot’s anger is prevalent and eternal. I had the privilege of
listening to an advance copy of their upcoming album, “All the Devils Are Here” and let me tell
you, kids, this album rips.
The opening track “Die In Fear” is an instant crowdkill classic that cannot be denied its
righteous place as potential set opener of the year. It’s the kind of track that rips open a mosh pit
in ten seconds and leaves wounds on its two-stepping victims like a spectral monster of sound
waves with razor-like teeth and iron jaws; concert attendees will find that, indeed, all the devils
are here, and they’re throwing down right there with them. Catch me screaming “WHAT A
WASTE OF A MAN” at the next Mugshot show I show up to, because “Afore a Waking
Nightmare” has breakdowns to scratch the deepest of itches. The whole album does, really.
“Baptized in Concrete” just proves that the production of this album is stellar, which is
absolutely true to every degree. The bass tone is so tasty that it’s downright nearly erotic to listen
to. I mean, the subliminal grooviness of these tracks should be appreciated by everyone who gets
a chance to hear them. They are truly some of the sexiest riffs and grooves I’ve ever come across.
But what nails the lid on the coffin are the lyrics on this album. “Remove your spine,
invertebrate, fight your way to the frontlines,” is a battle cry to destroy or be destroyed, and that
is what the album is all about. “A silver spoon couldn’t satisfy your rotten mouth” is straight up
riot music, and I’m here for it.
Mugshot’s new album is killerrr stuff. I’d be remiss if I didn’t proclaim a love for it. As
that final track, “Next To Your Idols” comes to a close by fading to whining static feedback, you
may feel that you’ve spent the past twenty-five minutes in Hell. In fact, you’ve just been in your
room, at work, in your car, and the truth of the matter is that all the devils are here, and they’re
down to hit a pit.
Mugshot goes on tour this Summer with fellow North American pitters, Orthodox. Check
them out when they stop in a city near you:
07/22 Mesa, AZ @ The Underground
07/24 Oklahoma City, OK @ 89th Street Collective
07/25 Houston, TX @ The End
07/26 San Antonio, TX @ The Rock Box
07/27 Dallas, TX @ TX Tea Room
Photo Credit: Mugshot photographed by Nick Chance – Used with permission/All Rights Reserved.