You know, I could sit here and lie to you about how there are certain artists that are doing something important and/or completely original. Why not? I mean most people who review albums for other websites do. I could do that, but it wouldn't really matter 'cause the people who will read this probably won't care anyway. Mental comes from the newer wave of hardcore that says, "We like our music hard and fast. We know what we want. We don't care about sounding fresh and original and if you have a problem with that, then fuck off!"
Hopefully, that scared off anyone who might have wanted to dispel the hype of this band, and they have certainly been getting their fair share of it. That definitely goes with being from Boston, MA, and being on the well-known Bridge 9 label. Their hype is largely drawn from their intense energy that is found on record as well as playing live. Any band that can do that, to me, is already destined to be better than most.
Get an Oxygen Tank! starts off with a bang in the form of "History 101," a song which viciously attacks those who talk down to people. Following this song are 14 short blasts of good, old-fashioned hardcore punk rock. It ends with the anthem, "Searchin' for the Light," originally done by Supertouch. The album concludes in just over 23 minutes, about the normal time for a new hardcore release.
Mental knew what they were doing when they made this album. Like I said before, there is nothing new to this album. They didn't even really try to be original. They just wanted to write some chillin' tunes for their friends and came out with this piece of artwork. And speaking of artwork, the art on the cover of the CD has to be the best art I've seen since Derek Riggs still did Maiden albums. Back to the sound: The production well suits the band. The guitars are muddy. The vocals are a little scratchy and sound a bit like Ian MacKaye on Minor Threat's demo. The bass is heavy and a tad bit overdriven. The drums are a little trebly and the bass drum is scarcely found. I'm sure it sounds perfect on vinyl. It sounds straight out of the early 80s. In fact, if the disc was released back then, Mental would definitely be up there with Judge, Youth of Today, Chain of Strength, and Minor Threat, as one of the best hardcore bands of all time. That may sound like an exaggeration, but given the sound, I could easily argue that. And if you disagree, then like I said before, you shouldn't be listening to this album to begin with.
