So back in the days of living in northern Vermont, getting a good mix cd was like getting handed a treasure map with 10 red “X’s on it; you had to hunt these records down like it was some shitty version of Indiana Jones where instead of giant stone balls, snake pits, punji sticks, and Nazi’s, you had dial-up modems, the United States Postal Service, finding a catalogue that may contain the band you are looking for, distro’s that only sold metal, and Nazis.
Needless to say, times were tough for fans of noise rock, weird rock, and all the stuff that wasn’t straight –up “punk” or “metal”, and getting your hands on the actual music was even tougher. I remember hearing Karp for the first time on a compilation my friend Hannah was listening to in her bedroom and falling in love with them instantaneously. To get a Karp full length, I had to take a 40 minute bus after school to Burlington, go to the local record store Pure Pop, and ask if they could order a Karp CD for me. “Which album” you may ask? I have no clue! “What label?” Couldn’t tell ya! They had to pull out this huge telephone book looking catalog to see if they could even get it; luckily, they could. I ordered Mustaches Wild and 2.5 weeks later, took a bus back there and finally got it. The trick was getting my parents to pick me up from Burlington to bring me back home to Georgia, which was another 40 minutes….
Funnyman, BFF, and slap bassist Dave of Tinsel Teeth, made me a mix CD back in the day that I still own and is in one piece; it’s also one of the most influential mixes anyone has ever made me. He put together some Fisticuffs Bluff, Anasazi, Phantom Limbs, and the song “I Say Eisenhower” by Brass Knuckles for Tough Guys…when I first heard it, it took a few moments for my brain to transcribe what exactly was happening. The music was menacing, frenzied, and maniacal. The dizzying guitars, snarled vocals, and jarring rhythm section make for some punishing yet brilliant, math-driven noise rock. The songs stop and start abruptly and shift tempo and shape constantly. The two guitars are continuously going punch for punch with dissonant riffs and swarms of noise that quickly recede into jagged shards. Noise Man Kills Him is not only an album to rock out to, it’s also an album that needs to be studied.
Brass Knuckles for Tough Guys also have another release: a split with a band called Tetsuo, and the album is called Stunt. Tetsuo shares members of Brass Knuckles for Tough Guys and is as equally brutal and unhinged. Some of the members of Brass Knuckles for Tough Guys went on to form Hero of a Hundred Fights who are similar in sound, but not as overwhelming.
Why Brass Knuckles for Tough Guys or Noise Man Kills Him, which released on Divot Records in 1997 never became legendary is beyond me. This is a flawless album that you need to own.
Rating: 6 out of 6 Doves – Prince loved this album so much, that he missed his name being called for his 11th Grammy of the night, because he was playing it over and over again in his head. The doves knew to stay out of his way when he got back home. Scariest game of hide and seek at the Prince Mansion ever.
Brass Knuckles for Tough Guys on Discogs.
Similar Albums:
My Lai- Learn…Forgret…Re-Learn
The Dazzling Killmen- Face of Collapse – Skin Graft Records
Drive Like Jehu- Yank Crimes – Interscope Recods
Sleetmute Nightmute- Night of the Long Knives – Fast Weapons
