Welcome again to the hellbilly cult we call Agony Column, a brutal, warped mixture of so many other bands yet still creating its own hole to reside in. A truly unhinged combo of craziness, the beautifully named Bat Lord, Crow, Redwing Viper and Devil Chicken, somehow reaching a peculiar level of seriousness on this record as they belch out a full metal wallop of a record that nods to everything and nothing else. Somehow the title track buzzes like insane Trouble perched on a Slayer riff like some predatory vulture waiting to strip the flesh from your gnarled bones. 'Crime & Punishment' has a dark thrashing riff and insane vocal sneer whilst White Zombie are left squirming in the oily backwoods wake of 'No Time To Kill'. 'Brave Words...' is an orgy of the damned, a procession of the whacked out and zany but still the band manage to have an accessible appeal, but it never lasts, the listener unsure whether to attempt to last the pace or run and hide behind the garbage cans. Agony Column aren't startlingly original, they just have a knack for the weird and wonderful, and the uncanny ability to inject themselves into the soul like some lethal drug that makes you feel oh so good. White Zombie attempted to put the 'Texas Chainsaw massacre' onto record but they failed due to repetition. Agony Column somehow infect the bloodstream like a video nasty, dragging you in on those maniacal riffs before chewing you up and spitting you out for the dogs. Half a decade later the band would record their strangest venture yet, but alongside their debut 'God, Guns & Guts', 'Brave Words...' is a formidable record without category and yet one which reminds me of a classic thrash record recorded by the cast of 'Deliverance'. Dangerous and bruising.
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