Bad Chapters
Edge of Collpase
Reviewed by Raoul Hernandez, Fri., Aug. 12, 2011
Bad Chapters
Edge of CollapseAny precipice this local trio envisions itself teetering upon disappears with the first two cuts on Edge of Collapse, including the jerking punch of the title track. With the ferocity of redneck roots metallers bred at the fringes of grunge – incorporating a post-punk directness drained of any pretension – Bad Chapters stomps its dry kindling debut without any backward glance at the flames licking the sides of their highway star. Cody Litkey's naked city vocals wrap around Ben Reese's running bassline on "Can't Get Caught" like Duane Dennison and David Wm. Sims reunited. Litkey's guitar stab meets Andrew Cearnal's motoring drum beat on the equally ripped "Rebellion." Circling riffs ("Wound Tight"), third-gear fuck-and-run ("Ordinary Tragedy"), and psychobilly burn ("No Way To Go") ride high-octane rails. Throw the slow one back ("The Last"), make the finish line 10 rather than 12, and consider this Bad Chapters' verge of ascension.