The Fucking Wrath
Season Of Evil
6.3
I used to run around with a few crusty punk kids from time to time, and one thing I can tell you about that scene is they love their weed. So the fact that their scene isn’t swarming with more bands like The Fucking Wrath is actually fairly surprising. You see, this Montalvo, CA trio is a hardcore band at heart taking elements from that scene and putting them side by side with Sabbath-style bluesy riffing. It almost sounds like the band wrote a d-beat filled hardcore album, but ate a whole tray of magic brownies on the way to the studio.
I’m a really big fan of both of the styles at play here, so I’ve thought of the marriage before and some bands like Kylesa have come pretty close to duplicating the sound in my head, but The Fucking Wrath just about nail it with Season of Evil. The success of the album comes from its ability to blend the styles seamlessly. From time to time a riff might be pure punk or pure stoner metal, but for the most part the riffing is a shade somewhere between the two, often leaning toward the punk side. The result is something like strains of Black Sabbath, Akimbo, Kylesa, Discharge, High on Fire, His Hero is Gone, and Motorhead rolled into one big fatty. I know that’s a lot of names dropped right there, but it all makes sense once you hear it.
Despite having a neat, well-executed sound, I still feel that Season of Evil is missing those two or three major standout tracks to carry the album to a higher plane. As it is, this is an energetic disc that combines two of my favorite styles to near perfection, so it is really hard to complain. With the sound they have, I think if these guys really dig and push themselves to write more complete songs, and more importantly a complete album, they can be something special.
