Bones — Sons of Sleaze
Chicago trio Bones returns with Sons of Sleaze, their follow up to 2011's self-titled debut. The band name should be a clue as to what you're getting: simple, skeletal metal. The awesomely gruesome and simple cover by Putrid adds some visual atmosphere to this bare bones (ha!) metal attack. To wrap it up, just look to the members' names: Jon Necromancer, Joe Warlord, and Carcass Chris. They're not as great as the guys from Zuckuss, but they're fun nonetheless.
So, what are these fun dudes bringing to the party? Fuzzy, crusty, headbanging jams. While poor sounding production doesn't always hit the mark, it works very well on Bones' Sons of Sleaze. When not blasting fuzzed out heavy metal, Bones blasts out vulgar death metal, crusty punk, bits of grind, and even some solid groove. The opener, "Poisoned Breed," starts the album out on the right foot. This heater is fast and dark with a gross, chugging bass keeping right along with the drum attack. Jon's rough, low vocals reinforce the punishment and make this jam one of the album's highlights. Straight forward metal tracks like "13" and "Frozen Vein" take on an almost Venom like mantle, and the less than crisp production only helps to make the songs more appealing. The fast and furious opening of "1000 Lies" (take that, Death!) gives way to a sludgy breakdown that sadly doesn't last as long as it should. Right up there with "Poisoned Breed" is "Mindfucked." It starts off fast, but breaks down into a rad little groove before blasting back out to assault some more. The few groove pieces are a nice respite from the onslaught, but not too long that you don't want the speed to continue. While it shouldn't have surprised me, the closer is a cover of Terrorizer's "Fear of Napalm." It's a very solid cover, indeed, and the production and slime make it sound more like a Repulsion track.
Sons of Sleaze is a fun release. It may not hit all the marks, but it's dirty and honest. If you're more into Venom than Disgorge (MEX), this is right up your alley. If Bones puts out a third album, I'd check it out to see how they've progressed.