UK thrash band Short Sharp Shock have released a new Christmas song, "Merry ChristmaSSS", as a free download.
Earache Records did an interview with SSS frontman Foxy where he talks about the new song and what Christmas means to him. Here are some of the highlights:
Q: Why have you done a free Christmas song?
Foxy: "We are following in the footsteps of some of the greatest Christmas songs ever written from yesteryear - Slade, Wizzard, Bing Crosby, Nat King Cole, Shakin Stevens, FEAR and Band Aid - that have all placed themselves firmly in our hearts and on cheap Christmas compilation CDs at this time of year. Now here's our meagre festive rattler that will be played for years to come at family discos and shake the false teeth from all our nans' heads."
Q: Did you enjoy Christmas as a kid?
Foxy: "What's not to like about Christmas when you are a kid? A time when there was actual snow at Christmas. Being the first in the yard and lining up snowballs to lob at your mates and teachers. Skidding in one strip on the ice until the caretaker dumps grit on it. Making cards, crackers (out of a toilet roll), cotton wool snowmen and calendars. Mucking around as a king in the nativity play and changing the words to the carols, "While shepherds wash their socks night...". Bringing toys in on the last day of term was always a doss. A big countdown to a day you thought wouldn't ever come, so you get to your pit early, try to sleep, then wake up with a stocking on the end of your bed full with all sorts of stuff, mosh into all your presents and play out the front of your house, get cold, then back for your dinner and watch Star Wars. Then play with everything properly on boxing day. Bingo.
Liverpool skate thrashers Short Sharp Shock are back with their second disc, The Dividing Line.
The Dividing Line mixes classic skate thrash with West Coast punk and, on the new disc, the band blasts through 20 new tunes. This disc is more diverse and heavier than its predecessor and the band seems even more p*ssed off. Musically, the band throws in a few instrumentals, which range from the cinematic opener "The Dividing Line" to the shredding guitar riffs of "The Waiting Game". Song themes ranges from skating ("Ride the Best, F*ck the Rest" pays homage to Independent Trucks and "SK8+Destroy", which features guest appearances from skaters Geoff Rowley and Howard Cooke) to being generally p*ssed off with the world around them ("Street Leech" and "Unrest in the Northwest").
SSS perfectly capture the energy of the 80's thrash bands and they also have a similar sense of black humor (i.e. S.O.D.). Crossfire recently posted an interview with lead singer Foxy and here is one of the questions: If you had to do one of the following things which one would you choose and why?
a) Caught in a mosh with Anthrax.
b) Caught in a bong with Municipal Waste.
c) Surfing Nicaragua with Sacred Reich.
We don't do drugs, surfing is for fags so caught in a mosh it is! Why? - You can scoop your brains out with a rusty spoon, beat your chest like kong or bark at the moon and no-one cares what you look like.
The Dividing Line is available in a number of different formats and pressings. The US version of the new CD comes with free bonus DVD containing behind the scenes footage of the recording and aggro-touring action. There is a UK vinyl edition available through Earache's European Store which contains the LP-exclusive track "A Means to An End". There is also a "limited to 100 copies" splatter vinyl version of the disc which is also available from Earache's store.
Here is an extract from the bonus DVD:
SSS is playing some sporadic shows in the UK and their next show is March 1 @ Korova in Liverpool.
NME says that thrash "is a style of music that makes you want to pour lager over your head and jump off speaker stacks" and that the genre was founded by a "bunch of young metal dudes in the Bay Area of San Francisco [who] thought 'Gee, this music is ace, but it'd sound better if it was played faster and by drunk people'". There is a nice writeup on Municipal Waste and SSS (Short Sharp Shock - Earache labelmates of Municipal Waste) in the article.
NME has it right in that Muicipal Waste takes their music back to the pre-Satanic era of thrash metal. The music is fast and aggressive, comparable musically and lyrically to early Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, Gang Green and Kill 'em All era Metallica. Municpal Waste's lyrics center around beer (naturally), high school food fights, and radioactive warfare. The CD artwork, by San Francisco based artist Andrei Bouzikov, matches well with the band's lyrical themes and shows radioactive zombies at a keg party.
This CD continues where the band's previous release, Hazardous Mutations, left off. The band really doesn't slow down through the 15 tracks on this disc. As expected, the music is tight, the guitar work shreds and drumming constantly pushes the music forward. Stand out tracks include "Headbanger Face Rip", "A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Destroyer)" and "Born to Party" (which has the chorus "Municipal Waste is going to f*ck you up"). All of these tunes are perfect shout-alongs for the mosh pit. The band also shows their great sense of humor with the voice-overs on Beer Pressure and the 'hidden' bonus track. The bonus track sounds like a cover of an 80's pop song (but I haven't been able to track down the details on the track).
This CD has been released in Europe and is available on iTunes but the US release date has pushed back to July 31st. What is interesting is that the UK version (available through Play.com) has two bonus tracks: Thrashing's My Business....and Business Is Good (Bonus Track) I Just Wanna Rock (Bonus Track).
The band is finishing a short tour with Agnostic Front with a show in Detroit tonight and then they are off to a month-long run through Europe in August.
There is a new video for Unleash the Bastards (gore version) posted to the Earache site (link) along with photos from the photo shoot for Headbanger Face Rip (link).
Liverpool's Short Sharp Shock (S.S.S.) is Earache Records' latest signing. The new self-titled CD is the band's first full-length and it is a welcome return to the sounds of 80's skate-thrash. S.S.S. takes a page from the early/mid 80's California metal scene and obvious points of comparison would be bands like Mustaine/Burton-era Metallica, Megadeth, and Exodus. Frontman Foxy explains: "The music, it breaks down barriers of all kinds. Don't know why or how, what with today's musical tastes of glitz and glam and watered down crap. Maybe thrash is such an old dinosaur that people have forgotten it and not it's new again..."
The new CD contains 17 songs; most of which clock in under two minutes. Check out of DIY video for Warhorse and you will get a good feel for the band's sound.
Warhorse Video
There is an interview with the band on Earache's site that provides some great background material on the band. To start with the band's history...
How long has SSS been in existence? What releases have you put out before signing to Earache?
MARK: We got together in March 2004 I think. We had around 6 practices, made a demo and started playing gigs. We then put out a self titled 7" EP, which was a split release though our own Thrashgig label and Dead and Gone records. We then saved up our pennies and recorded and released our album, which is again self titled. Earache heard this and offered us a deal, including re-mastering and re-releasing this album for June 07.
Surprisingly, the self-titled 7" is still available through the band's MySpace page. (This is going to be one of those "buy now or pay eBay prices later")
SSS -self titled 7" 4 songs-CDC/Bath Night/Thrash with a small Moustache/BLACK NIGHT WHITE LIGHT--->LAST FEW COPPIES!
PAYPAL THRASHGIG@aol.com UK-3.99...EUROPE-4.75...WORLD...5.25...copy with poster+comic
The new CD came out last month and a limited edition colored vinyl edition was released earlier this month. S.S.S frontman Foxy has this to say about the coloured vinyls: "Everyone likes something thats unique and that noone else has got. Well this is true for 100 lucky souls that can claim a limited red wax SSS lp. Eighty copies of the red vinyl edition (which was only sold through the band's MySpace page) are completely gone and the remaining copies will be sold at the band's Aug 8th show in Liverpool.
Here is a couple more snippets from the Earache interview (the full text is on the Earache site). The only question that I have is why Coney Island's Cyclone isn't one of Foxy's favorite roller coasters. (I would think a Brooklyn show would resolve this issue -- just think, Agnostic Front is playing Cha-Cha's in Coney Island. Maybe S.S.S. will be next...)
How would you describe your brand of thrash? FOXY: I have O.T.D...(old timers disease) - I can’t get rid of it! It’s in my blood for the rest of my days. It’s a bitter affliction, it wont budge. It’s got a hold on me and I cant shake it - a lot like our musical tastes. Suicidal Tendencies and SOD take away the pain of today's illness...and modern musical climate. MARK: We're not talented enough to play straight up thrash metal, plus we don't have the attention span, so we focus in on more of the crossover sound - liberally nicking bits from DRI, Excel, Suicidal Tendencies, SOD, No Mercy, etc. We all come from a punk rock and hardcore background, so that high energy and hard impact is essential to our sound.
You hail from the home of the Beatles - how do you think the rest of the world views Liverpool? FOXY: Burnt-out, broken in cars on bricks, curly hair and tashes, 3 football teams (I hate footy), drug addicts, shell suit tracksuits and dirty women. It’s a hole...but its our hole. MARK: The rest of the UK views us as a dump, and the rest of the world probably only knows us from The Beatles and football, so I don't care. I love it here (and I love the Beatles too)!
What can we expect to see at a live SSS show? FOXY: Human wreckage, head banging, crap moustaches. MARK: Pigs heads, idiots, beards.
Foxy, the word on the street is you love roller coasters. What’s the fascination? FOXY: Ha! Who told you that? But ya...coasters RIP! Speed is the need...my need is speed. Wooden coasters are the KING! The threat of these wooden thrashers falling over or coming off the tracks and you flying out, smashing your face on the ground with broken teeth, is always high on my list!
Here’s my top 10: 1.The Phoenix - Elysburg, Pennsylvania (Old school park + AIRTIME KING!) 2.The Beast - Cincinnati, Ohio (Didn’t a thrash band write a song about this? WINK WINK) 3.Grand National – Blackpool, UK (Killer humps that will rip you out your seat!) 4. Son of Beast - Cincinnati, OH (Wood with a loop!) 5. Shivering Timbers - Muskegon, MI (A MAMMOTH of a coaster!) 6. Giant Dipper - Santa Cruz, CA (A classic/sick 80s arcade in Neptune's kingdom) 7. The Texas Giant - Arlington, TX (One word....relentless) 8. The Comet - Lake George, NY (100 continuous rides in 2002!) 9. Meanstreak - Sandusky. OH (Great before trim breaks added...all girl thrash band named after it!) 10.Thunderbolt - West Mifflin, PA (Old as the hills, plus the lights on the cars work)
Short Sharp Shock are: Foxy – Singer Magill(Mark) - Bass Broomo – Guitar Dave - Drums
Anyway, to sum it all up, this CD is a must for any fan of old school early-80's metal. The band is currently touring the UK with Municpal Waste and here is hoping that a US tour follows.
Links: Earache Records (link) S.S.S.'s MySpace page (link)
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UK thrash band Short Sharp Shock have released a new Christmas song, "Merry ChristmaSSS", as a free download. 
