Oh man, haven’t heard Long Knife’s name called in a long time. You can choose to split pubic hairs over whether they’re back or still here, but what’s not up for debate is that Portland’s second favorite antiheroes have dropped a damn fine slab o’ new wax upon the jean vest-wearing masses. It comes via the mostly-reliable Beach Impediment label, with a full-color cover courtesy of Dennis Dread, which is uniquely and perhaps incredibly both juvenile and fine art at the same time.
Keith Testerman has taken over drummer duties this time around. He, of Warcry, Lebenden Toten, and Hellshock, all which sound nothing like this. Still, there’s not much new here in terms of growth, but they’ve gotten a little creative. I mean, inasmuch as adding organ to a song can be considered creative. I normally would turn my nose up at this sort of thing, but it’s not as disruptive to the overall sound as it often is when bands think they’re being cool. It reminds me of The Dwarves (when they’re playing it straight anyway) or, you know, any previous Long Knife releases. Overall though, their sound is undeniably indebted to a certain other Portland band of heavyweights. But that ain’t a bad thing at all.
