RPG

Fulltime (Arclight)

Thirteen songs in 29 minutes burns half-life for most ostensibly metal acts, but Richmond, Va.’s RPG manage Fulltime thunder in land-speed record time. Southern boogie fattened by metal-lic riffs and bled by punk tempos trips the switch of the quartet’s greased lightning debut, singer/axe-grinder Matt Conner’s cold snarl cutting through tense arrangements like the unholy offspring of Bob Mould and Jello Biafra. “Stand Still Blues” burps redline rabbit punches with pinpoint accuracy, while “Lose It” stomps the fuzz pedal to the floorboard and “Paralyzed” cracks open an ominous hornet’s nest. “You Gotta Know” is a no-frills amphetamine rush and “Crash Bam Boom” lays a swaggering, classic rock hurt on the ex. Not a hatchet job in the wood-pile, though the audio is only half of Fulltime; a 40-minute documentary on the DVD is subtly Spinal Tap, which may not register at first through the bong smoke until the deleted scenes. The band’s commentary is hilariously hazy. RPG’s aural assault sells its loud, self-described “simple” stomp, but the DVD fills in Fulltime with sardonic smarts. Burners take your marks …

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This article appears in June 24 • 2005.

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San Francisco native Raoul Hernandez crossed the border into Texas on July 2, 1992, and began writing about music for the Chronicle that fall, debuting with an album review of Keith Richards’ Main Offender. By virtue of local show previews – first “Recommendeds,” now calendar picks – his writing’s appeared in almost every issue since 1993.