Superchrist - Holy Shit
Hells Headbangers
Retro Heavy Metal
10 songs (29'58")
Release year: 2012
Hells Headbangers
Reviewed by Alex

With an album like Holy Shit Chicago veterans Superchrist are throwing another hot glowing ember into the debate of whether it is better to receive formal musical education or simply play from the gut when it gets to metal. And in the case of Superchrist we are talking about crude, equal parts alcohol and punk attitude filled, harkening back to the original days proto-metal. For this music, the discussion is rather easily settled then, since without a 110% dose of gut one simply does not need to apply.

Simplistic, but only because the songs are based around a couple of riffs each, Holy Shit has tunefulness of the earliest Accept, and to call the album catchy is an understatement. I dare anyone who ever put on a leather or denim jacket and calls him/herself a metal lover to get through this half hour trip from the genre’s past and not want to take the jaunt again. From hard rock to Motorhead to punk to NWOBHM, the songs on Holy Shit touch upon all of the above and deliver their punches in the sound just dirty and gritty enough, yet clear and legible, not to make a parody of itself.

Retro and straightforward in the case of Superchrist does not mean without skill, and some of the album solos (Take Me to the Graveyard, Don’t Wanna Know, Get Lost) are a testament to that. Actually, just about anything Chris Black touches (Pharaoh, or one of my favorites Dawnbringer, where he wears a number of hats) is thoughtful, just as it is honest. Holy Shit is no exception, both musically and lyrically, whereas I don’t see these guys being asked to deliver a weekly sermon at a local religious establishment or run for a measly political office.

Holy Shit could really sound one-note and trivial, but it completely escaped that trap. It truly doesn’t matter how many riffs per song is introduced, or if you think you could play like that as well. The character of just about every cut becomes obvious immediately, as if worn on the sleeve, and these songs run through a gamut of emotions. Hot Tonight will give you a whiplash and the hook simply infects with its cool melodic downshifting. PAMF is short, but is a full-on breakneck punk. Black Thunder is so WASP, so weepy, so American, and it ends with great drum rolls. Sewer Snake is a little bluesy, a little Sentenced, but maybe even more The Black League.

Powered on by from rough to “singing” voice of Professor Black, Holy Shit is a perfect album for this time of year, when summer and warmth are about to take over, and you can display you devil-may-care mood by rolling the window down while driving, having the middle finger on full extension towards all kinds of hassles and problems. Music like Holy Shit truly lets many of your inhibitions go.

Killing Songs :
Hot Tonight, Black Thunder, Sewer Snake
Alex quoted 84 / 100
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