This Seattle quintet was born out of a need to rock. Guitarist Michael Stubz had a dream, only in this case one slightly less grand than that of Martin Luther King Jr., in which he wanted "a straight ahead, two guitar attack punk band with a bit of a rock tinge" to perform the songs he had written. Surrounding himself with a number of highly experienced musicians, including alumni from bands such as the Meices and Himsa, Stubz and co set down four tracks that basically take that vision and make it a reality.

In the same way that OFF! has taken punk rock and added some big riffing guitar to boost the sound, Deadkill has followed that same path. If anything they take on more of the rock sound than OFF! but in doing so retained a more punk rock backbone throughout. With the gritty twin guitar attack provided by Stubz and Kirby Johnson, creating a healthy dose of power, it requires a strong rhythm section to ensure that nothing goes astray and with Michael Loftus on bass and Shawn Trudeau behind the drum kit, all is in place to keeps Deadkill on a straight course. That's not to say they don't add anything themselves to the music as thankfully Loftus's bass lines are ones which add much to the songs (listen on headphones if you need to hear good some of them are) and Trudeau's beats are firm but never over-embellished. On top of all this Bryan Krieger provides the vocals which do straddle the worlds of punk and rock, and it certainly sounds as if he's singing with a snarl on his face.

All four tracks see the band refusing to hold back and with experience in the bank, Deadkill manages to make a suitable racket that is fun to listen to. Opening with "Oh God Help You," the accelerator pedal is pushed to the floor and remains there until the last note/word/chord/drum beat of the final track, "Rip Off," rings out. For me the high point is the third track, "Outta My Head," which has those moments when I reach for my air guitar and play along to the big chords it contains.

Sure, there's nothing ground breaking here, Deadkill has taken a basic punk rock approach, added a bit of the more ballsy side of rock (a bit like Gang Green did for a while) but it's definitely a good listen, one that does pack a punch too. I'd imagine that Michael Stubz is happy too as this single seems to tick all of the boxes in terms of the criteria he had set down. I recommend checking this out for yourself on Bandcamp, where you can order the single or pay as little as $1 for a download of all four songs: it ain't free but it's damn close! Let's see if Stubz can conjure up an album now.