American/Australian hardcore group Deez Nuts return with their hard-hitting fifth album ‘Binge & Purgatory’ and it’s their best work to date. Over the course of their last four albums the guys have been labelled a party band as such, which of course has its advantages and disadvantages, however this album takes a much more serious and considered approach while staying true to the band’s no nonsense, in your face philosophy.
Gone are the majority of lyrics about drinking and girls, although the odd one still creeps in. Would it really be a Deez Nuts album if they didn’t? Instead, JJ Peters and his ‘Band of Brothers’ lay bare the stories of their lives on the road, having spent the last 12 months travelling the world.
Instrumental intro track ‘Binge’ hints at this more considered approach from the start before the album explodes into life with relentless riffs of ‘Purgatory’ which sets an incredibly fast tempo that lasts throughout. The thunderous drums of Alex Salinger go hand in hand with Matthew Rogers’ unforgiving guitars and when combined with Peters’ aggressive as ever vocals, it’s a package that’ll kick you straight in the face.
‘Commas & Zeros’ and final track ‘Do Not As I Do’ encapsulate all that’s great about the album with breakdowns and shout-outs, while ‘Carried By Six’ is everything the guys do best all wrapped up into 30 seconds of chaos. Not to take away from any of the other 10 tracks on the album which combine for 32 minutes of furious hardcore.
All in all ‘Binge & Purgatory’ is a Deez Nuts album for the masses, and one which steps out of the mould previously forged by the band and pushes them to the forefront of the hardcore scene.
CHRISTOPHER LEE