Kick me Silly!!!

A blitzkrieg is often described as a short, fast or powerful attack against another force. That perfectly sums up exactly what Kick Me Silly; VC3 by Venomous Concept is. Twenty songs no longer than two and a half minutes each means that this album clocks in at a little under thirty four minutes, which could be considered a short, fast attack against your ears. But that’s exactly what good grind-core is supposed to be.

Venomous Concept is the brainchild of Shane Embury of Napalm Death and Kevin Sharp of Brutal Truth and also includes other memebrs of Napalm Death and Brutal Truth. Although at one point, the band included Buzz Osborne of The Melvins.

Kick Me Silly begins like a drag race on fire. To give you an idea, by the time you get through the first 5 minutes, you have already plowed through three songs. Each just as hard and fast as the last one, leaving you catching your breath. It isn’t until the seventh song on the album that you get a brief respite. Said song, “Farm Boy,” is the second longest track on the album, clocking in at a glacial three minutes. It’s slow build brings out the power of the blast beats after the first minute and then you are back at it. Getting pummeled by each and every song.

By the time you get to the end of the album – which to be honest, happens really quickly – you begin to notice that these guys don’t let up. Each song is an absolute slugfest. Exactly how good grindcore should be.

If you are into this band, and others like them, this review isn’t going to change your mind about whether or not to get it. These guys come from a lineage of great heavy music and they certainly deliver. It’s grindcore/hardcore hybrid is certainly done well and isn’t lacking in either department. Although, it would’ve been awesome to have a few more songs. Yet, that is just being nitpicky and to be honest, we all can’t get what we want all the time. I mean I can’t have Ice Cream injected into my veins while driving an escalade on the freeway and I won’t get a few more songs on Kick Me Silly. It’s fair.