MR_SaturN's Full Review: No Gods, No Managers [Digipak] by Choking Victim
One day I was sitting in an online chat-room, when I randomly played an mp3 by the band Against All Authority. Another chatline netizen noticed my mp3 message, and said that if I enjoyed Against All Authority, I should check out Choking Victim. So, on his advice, I loaded up Kazaa and downloaded a handful of Choking Victim mp3s.
I must say, I wasn't sure what to expect when I downloaded the tunes. With a name like Choking Victim, I was half-expecting something sounding similar to Cannibal Corpse or Gwar (which I loathe). However, I was pleasantly surprised! However, let me go on about some of Choking Victim's history.
Choking Victim comprised of four crackhead squatters from New York who decided to put together a satanic ska/hardcore band. After recording a few EPs and such, they finally recorded the album I'm reviewing, called No Gods/No Managers. However, fifteen minutes after recording the album, they disbanded, but soon afterwards formed back together under the guise Leftover Crack. Since then they have signed onto the mega-punk label Epitaph (home of such smashes as Rancid, Bouncing Souls, and Bad Religion) and recorded a few more releases.
Anyway, my pal and I went downtown one day, and we stopped off at Rotate This, one of Toronto's greatest independently-owned music stores. There, I saw No Gods/No Managers by Choking Victim! Well, I snatched that up before my friend got a chance to. It's times like this that you need fast reflexes.
So on the way home, we're listening to it, and of course I've heard most of the songs already, since I had downloaded a bunch prior, and they only had one or two releases. Still, it sound a lot better when it's pumping from your car stereo cruisin' downtown than from a computer in a dark dismal basement.
I can see why my online friend compared Choking Victim to Against All Authority; they're very similar in sound. Both have definate ska sound, while mixing that big of coarse, throaty, angry vocals, with the rough-sounding music style. However, I'd say that Choking Victim has a more hardcore, almost metal sound than AAA. Some songs are almost completely ska (such as Five Finger Discount), whereas some are much harder and louder (such as F*cked Reality).
Also, there's one additional aspect of Choking Victim that sets them apart from pretty much any other band in my music collection, and that's the satanic aspect. Normally, I don't listen to music with any sort of strong or obvious religious tones, but Choking Victim is different. How Choking Victim portrays the satanic influence on No Gods/No Managers is almost comical in a way; anyone who listens to it and actually comprehends the satanism can't possibly take it seriously, and I highly doubt Choking Victim takes it seriously either. On almost every single track of No Gods/No Managers, there's pretty strong anti-social messages; do drugs, kill cops, burn churches, and worship Satan (all very important activities, by the way).
And now, of course, it's time for the Key Tracks! Yay!
500 Channels - Basically a song about watching TV, and shooting dope.
Crack Rock Steady - Satanic reggae at it's best. Well, the only satanic reggae. Oh well. This is about smoking crack, killing cops, and satanism. Oh yeah!!
Five Finger Discount - One of the best songs on the album. Basically about the thrill of stealing, and risking getting caught.
Hate Yer State - A cool little ditty with a secret backwards message at the beginning. According to my friend, it's a message to little kids to worship Satan and kill their grandparents. How dastardly!
F*cked Reality - "I am a loser, I am Satan, I am Jesus Christ... there are no winners in this Fuxxed Reality..."
F*ck America - Pretty much a big middle finger to the USA. Pretty self-explanitory.
Of course, there are a few other songs that are good as well, but there are some that I just have to skip because I just don't care for them. But, that's the cuts with almost any album. So if you're in the market for an album that will make your parents disown you, check out No Gods/No Managers!
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