Wednesday 9 September 2015

Lifetime Shitlist - '‘Pneumaticon’ (Album Review)

By: Daniel Jackson

Album Type: Full Length
Date Released: 21/07/2015
Label: Grimoire Records


Lifetime Shitlist feels completely pretension-free; the album comes across like they just thrash and yell because it’s what they love to do, and sadly it’s something of a breath of fresh air in that sense. It’s the kind of sincerity a huge chunk of metal bands could learn from in 2015.

‘Pneumaticon’ CD//DD track listing:

1. Flag Draped Coffins
2. Burned at the Stake
3. Blood Money
4. Horse Drawn
5. Psychic Vampires
6. Unhinged
7. Give it Up
8. Lip Service Rituals
9. Negative Polarity
10. Another Charade

Lifetime Shitlist is:

Dave Pennington | Vocals
Metal Matt Crocco | Guitars
Bryan Glaiser | Drums
Ryan Larkin | Bass


The Review:

Having gone with Lifetime Shitlist based on the name alone, which may or may not be a shout out to Japanese grind weirdos Bathtub Shitter, I was expecting something a bit grindier. Instead, I was treated to some fun, if well-worn hardcore with a smattering of death and doom influence. It’s the sort of album I imagine putting on at a barbeque with friends of mine with a deep history of loving hardcore. The reason that’s so specific is because this is an album that’s really only going to appeal to a certain demographic: crusty old fucks who want their hardcore albums sounding like they did in the 80s.

It’s in that way that the album has its charm for me. It’s not something I’ll be breaking out all the time, but I can imagine the people who love this sort of thing going insane for it. Musically, the album shows plenty of variety tempo-wise, with everything from thrashy punk beats to slower breakdowns (no, not djenty ones) used, and more often than not, everything flows together nicely. The guitar work will certainly feel familiar to anyone who's heard a Discharge or Poison Idea album, in fact there’s a Poison Idea cover on the album. For the more metal-minded among us, you might find some common ground through older Obituary or very early Corrosion of Conformity. The vocals may be a sticking point for metal fans who aren’t used to throaty delivery ala Cal Morris from Discharge or Al Long from Nausea, but otherwise there should be some crossover appeal.

At only 23 minutes, ‘Pneumaticon’ is an easy listen and can make for an all too important palate-cleanser in the midst of all of the postblackgazedoom, and so on, that metal fans seem to be inundated with on a constant basis right now. Lifetime Shitlist feels completely pretension-free; the album comes across like they just thrash and yell because it’s what they love to do, and sadly it’s something of a breath of fresh air in that sense. It’s the kind of sincerity a huge chunk of metal bands could learn from in 2015.

You can pick up both a cd copy & digital copy here.

FFO: Discharge, COC, Poison Idea, Obituary



Band info: Facebook