For The Kids – By The Kids,
ZannWith a title like that, this could only be one thing, Hardcore. Or possibly nursery Rhymes, but that’s unlikely. This is in fact 15 tracks of skull-bludgeoning sonic GBH from Germany. With their no holds barred approach to making the heaviest, noisiest music possible, this album can become quite draining to listen to. You have to respect them for what they do, because there is surely no chance of ever breaking into the mainstream, this is purely for their own enjoyment, oh, and ‘for the kids’.
Behind the CD they explain: ‘Zann supports and encourages a vegan/vegetarian, drug-free, non religious, non violent, pro choice, anarchistic and humorous lifestyle. Don’t take yourself too seriously, stay angry and question everything’. No sitting on the fence for these guys then! What is slightly disconcerting is the photos of the band in the booklet, posing with the standard black crosses on their hands, straight edge tops, straight edge tattoos …and guns. Maybe this is a joke and I’m an idiot, who knows. What is good is that the booklet is very comprehensive, with lyrics (in German), tons of photos, and the stories/meanings behind the songs printed In English. The meanings range from using every second of every day to not letting people put you down, you know, the standard hardcore stuff.
If this CD had been produced by someone other than a deaf man with no hands (I’m just guessing about that one), then the songs would be a lot more listenable. But as it is, the sound is just a big mess of guitars and incomprehensible screaming. Still, I reckon the live show would be very intense and well worth going to.
Ben Gosling
