Your sense of decency subconsciously advises you to avoid ANTiSEEN. With a longstanding history that dates back to the '80s, and a cultural motif predicated on Southern pride, whiskey and the infamous advice "shoot first, ask questions later", this is blue collar punk at its finest. ANTiSEEN's unique brand of music walks the fine line between Skynyrd and GG Allin.
Night after night, husky vocalist Joe Clayton bashes beer bottles into his skull, leaving him bleeding red, white and blue as he rages on stage like a beleaguered madman. Come across Clayton at a local record convention as he hawks his wares, and you'd never guess this man bleeds for a living. On The Boys From Brutalsville, Clayton and company sound just as primeval as they did on previous recordings, evoking the power of firepower ("Guns Ablazin'") and tenacious anti-government sentiment ("Run My World"). Joe Young's sludged-out guitar paves the way on "Babyface Killer", leaving a trail of battered bodies and irritated eardrums behind it. Sure to rile up any non-backwoods, pro-diversity citizen, "Melting Pot" is like an updated version of SOD's "Speak English or Die". Our fearsome foursome rhetorically wonders why every foreigner can't go back to his or her own respective country. Xenophobic? That's for you to decide. However, ANTiSEEN makes it clear that they really couldn't give a fuck about your opinion, so don't bother arguing with 'em -- unless you're looking for a black eye and a bloody lip. And while this TKO release has its fair share of heated verbal commentary, there's a humorous side to the band as well, demonstrated as they rip into a slowed-down version of The Ramones' classic "Commando". Tongue in cheek blues litters the aptly titled "Broke Down Blues", as Clayton sings about the woes of constant van trouble while on the road, all to the tune of 12 bars. Taken at face value, the majority of these tunes will pique anyone seeking hard-edged rock salvation with grit that could only come from the dirty South.
Will the scars on Clayton's forehead end up skewing your political and social views towards a decisively Republican punk platform? Could ANTiSEEN become the next ultra-conservative threat to the Bush campaign? It's doubtful, but on an entertainment level, this quartet has the uncanny ability to project a distinct view, spilling right-wing diatribe upon the hordes of presumably left-wing punk rockers, who don't know whether to raise their fists in agreement or scoff at the band's uncouth image. And to add to this bonfire of mixed identities, ANTiSEEN provides another batch of 13 tunes from The Boys From Brutalsville that can be taken either for sheer Southern punk rock amusement or as disgusting examples of trailer trash theses on the decrepit state of America's cultural renaissance.
