Rodent Lord

Anthropocene (2012)

MisterCarnivore

Let me cut to the chase here; the mountains of Pennsylvania have crafted a unique band with a dark sound all their own, and they sound pissed as hell. Pissed at who? You have your standard cast such as authoritative oppression and pointing out religious follies as well as an equal presence of backlash against the destruction and abuse of our planet. This is the band's official debut EP, containing freshly re-recorded tracks from the band's initial demo release as well as a fresh new batch of songs thrown in.

The lyrical style goes up and beyond the use of mere shouted slogans or "THIS SHIT SUX" style of lyrics in that they are carefully crafted slabs of punk that draws influence from anarcho, '77 punk, hardcore and a bit of Rudimentary Peni thrown in around the edges. Content resides mostly among political and social issues and include topics such as Pennsylvania politician Budd Dwyer's suicide on public television in "Budd Dwyer Blues," police and political oppression and suppression in "Gestapo! Gestapo!" and "Dead Press" and enough environmentally conscious lyrics to make Earth Crisis blush in songs such as "Anthropocene" and "Monsato's Daughter." Potshots at religion are present as well in the anti-church/anti-state hybrid song "Mister Church/Mister State" as well ass the more traditional "Waste of Time."

One of the strengths of the band is that they're simply not content to stick to the same tempo. Songs range from frantic ragers to slower chaotic stomps as well as the occasional stomp thrown in. Often times they aren't even delegated to different songs and the group makes excellent use of tempo shifts to both slow down and kick it up a notch, and whenever the heavier parts kick in their done so with tact. No NYHC style beatdowns going on around here.

Overall, this disc is very worth getting your hands on and I'd recommend it to anyone to anyone who wants a fresh, yet still murky, blast of punk straight through the ears, guaranteed to be kicking around in your head hours after you listen.