Tigershark/ApeshitWhen I first found out these guys would be doing a split together back in May when I received Apeshit's demo (from Jay from Tigershark nonetheless!), needless to say I was hyped to see this thing arrive in my mail box.
On side A is Tigershark, who are from Richmond, VA and play down tuned, dirty punk/metal that can be compared in aspects to bands such as His Hero Is Gone, Old Man Gloom, yada, yada (more information can be found in their demo review). They contribute five brand new songs totaling close to 18 minutes. Now, I was absolutely huge into their demo, the songs dug their claws deep into my brain. So, I have the bar set pretty high for these guys. I got to say, the songs musically are vicious, however, they don't quite do it for me as much as the demo. Why? It just seems the songs lack a certain memorable quality that songs like "Uspridge" had. The song writing is more chaotic than ever it seems, but the songs don't seem nearly as cohesive to me. Another reason is that the lyrics just didn't do it for me as much as their demo. But this changes for their split with Thank God...more on that later.
Now on to Side B, which is where Apeshit totally surprises me. These guys who are from Brooklyn, NY sound like "Heroin's vocals over Rorschach's music," which is actually quite a good description. Their side consist of 7 new tracks plus 5 reworked tracks from their demo (Your Chewbacca Boots Are Making Me Thirsty, Cheeseburger In Paradise, Thrash Bash Monster Mash, Scabs and Scars, and Cardboard Coffins). I got to say I am impressed with these guys, their new songs just tear through time with all kinds of crazy tempo changes. They are abrasive and chaotic and man I can't get enough of this guy's vocals, it sounds so damn good! On top of great music the band throws you for a loop with their poetically worded social commentary, which you wouldn't expect with the zany ass song titles like "Penis On A Washcloth". Really, really good stuff.
Tigershark's side of the split was recorded by Lance Koehler at Minimum Wage Studios. I got to say, I wasn't too impressed with the recording. I expected things to be dirty from these guys but it was a bit much for my liking. The overall tone of the mix sounded too muddy which to me stemmed mostly from the drum tone, that just seemed to aggravate me. The placement on the vocals seemed really distant too. The bass tone is still very similar to their demo, utilizing a very twangy/fuzzy tone which works nicely with the chaotic nature of the band's music. For Apeshit, the recording sounds really fucking good, dirty yes, but oh so good. Compared to the tone of their demo, they have definitely tightened things up (yeah I know that seems contradictory to the band's nature!). The guitar tone is menacing as hell, the bass tone is full of fuzz and distortion which sounds real good with the rest of the mix. The vocals have pretty good placement as well.
Kate Horne did an absolutely amazing job on the artwork. The design features a epic drawing of two horses trampling over a man while pulling the reins of what I am guessing to be a boar. The only thing that sucks is the scene is too big to fit on the front, so 1/4 of the drawing is on the back, and the semi gloss sleeve doesn't fold out to display it in all its glory. A nice thick cardboard lyric/credit sheet comes along with the package, with a slick silhouetted pictures of the band on each side and some brief thank you's and what not. To top it off, the first limited run of these bad boys come on some thick purple vinyl to match with the rest of the layout.
Rating: 3.7/5
Songs Worthy of Replay: Tigershark-Stoner Flock and Rando Commando Apeshit-Penis On A Washcloth and Cocaine Dinner Party
Synopsis: Both bands offer up some steaming material, and while Tigershark's side isn't quite as good their demo it still rips shit. Apeshit have actually improved upon their demo with their new songs and have tightened up their 5 songs from their demo. The layout of the record is absolutely gorgeous sooo... I suggest you check out both bands for yourself, if you like what you hear, buy the combo deal for the Tigershark/Thank God split and this split (Tigershark really ups the game on that, which you will hear about from the review I will be writing very soon.)