The first thing I thought of when I popped this into my CD player was "Zeke". And why not, they're on Zeke's label, after all. But this band is less one dimensional than Zeke. While they can still play the fast, no bullshit, no frills punk rock, but they're not afraid to slow down a little and expand on that sound a bit.

Like Zeke, Flamethrower has an obsession with cars, drugs, and alcohol and I don't mind it a bit. When vocalist Brian High isn't screaming his lungs out he almost resembles Russ Rankin of Good Riddance. That's a very favorable comparison, since Russ has one of the best voices in hardcore/punk right now. The music won't wow you with its technicality, although they do throw in the occasional solo, but it sounds like punk rock should: fast and pissed off. Actually, pissed off is good way to describe this band's demeanor. They hate you, they hate themselves, and about the only things they don't hate are hard music and hard drugs. I suppose this would be the ideal soundtrack for self-destruction or at least some heavy drinking

If there's a dominant theme here, it would probably be: the world is out to get me, but they won't win as long as I get myself first. But instead of just pounding away and making the same fast song over and over, Flamethrower is actually successful when they slow things down. We aren't talking Bad Religion style harmonization here, but they're still well done. A lot times, a band like this will try to change things and fall directly on their faces. It's good to see that Flamethrower is comfortable switching speeds.

Overall this album just slays, it's especially impressive when you think about the fact that this is the band's first album. This might be the best thing Dead Teenager has released so far, and hopefully this band will continue to release solid material for years to come. If you like Zeke, you'll obviously enjoy Flamethrower.

Coked Up MP3