Review / 200 Words Or Less
Grace Alley / Skin Like Iron
Quake City

Spiderghost (2008) Michael

Grace Alley / Skin Like Iron – Quake City cover artwork
Grace Alley / Skin Like Iron – Quake City — Spiderghost, 2008

We all know how much I love the Bay Area music scene, so it's really no surprise I'm loving this split 7" from Grace Alley and Skin Like Iron.

Grace Alley leads things off with "Sunday Morning, "Fifth and Harrison." The music has that definitive East Bay Punk sound of the 90's to it mixed with a bit of the Brit Punk sound

then again weren't most of those Bay Area bands borrowing from the Brits? The vocals are a bit more hardcore oriented with Sammy Winston of All Bets Off/Ramparts fame on the mic. For their second song they take on Cheap Trick's "Auf Wiedersehen." It's an odd choice, but they pull it off.

Side two has Skin Like Iron offer up two originals on their side of the split. Following up their self-titled 10", these two songs demonstrate their fusion of gritty and raw hardcore with dissonant metal. It's like equal parts Black Flag and The Melvins with a dash of Discharge. They are quickly becoming one of the best bands in hardcore, not to mention one of the most unique.

Two great bands on one piece of wax. What's not to love? Pick this up!

8.5 / 10Michael • October 14, 2008

Grace Alley / Skin Like Iron – Quake City cover artwork
Grace Alley / Skin Like Iron – Quake City — Spiderghost, 2008

Recently-posted album reviews

Scorching Tomb

Ossuary
Time To Kill (2025)

Whenever I see the cover art of an album for a metal band and there’s impaled skulls, blood, and a logo I can’t read, I know I’m getting ready to get obliterated. If I’m at the record store, I instantly flip it to the spine of the album to see the band’s name so I can check them out on … Read more

CF98

Stupid Punk
Double Helix, SBAM (2025)

If I said that Poland is known for pierogis and punk rock, would you believe me? Punk has a deep history in Poland ranging all the way back to the late 70s with the band Tilt and from the looks of it, it’s not stopping any time soon. CF98 has been a part of the scene for over two decades … Read more

Cluster Lizard

Herts
Prostir (2025)

Dmytro Fedorenko and Kateryna Zavoloka are two legendary artists who have defined much of contemporary experimental electronic music through both their various projects and through the now-defunct Kvitnu record label. One of their newer collaborations is Cluster Lizard, a project that has undergone an interesting evolution. Starting in 2017, Fedorenko and Zavoloka opted for a deeply off-kilter approach, with Edge … Read more