CD review MUNICIPAL WASTE "Slime and Punishment"

(8/10) Speed, fury and uncompromissingness are some of the key factors for Municipal Waste’s success. The guys from Richmond, Virginia started their metal adventure in 2000, leading to six records over the last years. The newest strike is entitled “Slime and Punishment”, coming with 14 songs that can be described as faster and even more spot-on than what we know from the quintet up to date.

Municipal Waste pushes the pedal to the metal. Calmer moments or even ballads are nothing these guys get out of bed for. The five-piece from Richmond is firing on all cylinders, which results in savage songs like “Breathe Grease”, the opener of a 30 minutes lasting sonic twister that ends with the wild “Think Fast”. The interesting side note with the closer is the fact that the title includes ‘fast’ while the first half is kept in a quite moderate pace – still in Municipal Waste terms.

Everything that’s in-between the opener and the closer can be described as crossover anthems per excellence. Not taking prisoners with songs like the grooving “Slime and Punishment”, the brutal “Amateur Sketch” and the boisterous “Poison the Preacher”, Municipal Waste continues with a sound bands like D.R.I. and Suicidal Tendencies built up decades ago. The Richmond-quintet stands for a next generation of crossover bands, taking their inspiration from those earlier days in metal. The guys revitalize crossover since quite some years with “Slime and Punishment” being their newest attack.

“Slime and Punishment” is a self-recorded album with bass player Phil Hall at the helm. The mix though was done externally by no less than legendary Bill Metoyer. Obviously it was a fruitful combination, resulting in an excellent sound for such a crossover endeavour.

“Slime and Punishment” is an album that picks up the best from thrash metal and hardcore and the fact that this style isn’t really new doesn’t matter. Municipal Waste’s sound isn’t unique, but who cares. What the album gets across though is an honest passion for metal music that is transferred by songs that catches someone’s attention in no time.

(8/10)

Tracklist:

1. Breathe Grease
2. Enjoy The Night
3. Dingy Situations
4. Shrednecks
5. Poison The Preacher
6. Bourbon Discipline
7. Parole Violators
8. Slime And Punishment
9. Amateur Sketch
10. Excessive Celebration
11. Low Tolerance
12. Under The Waste Command
13. Death Proof
14. Think Fast

Label: Nuclear Blast

Genre: Thrash Metal

Release Date EU: June 23^rd, 2017