At the age of fourteen I discovered a band that embodied all that I thought was punk. Their Feed Us a Fetus record taught me that it’s good to be pissed off but you better be having fun too. I’ve been caught screaming along to “Aargh, Fuck, Kill,” “Proud to Be Canadian,” or “Kill the Hosers” more times than I care to remember. I’ve always felt that they’ve never been able to reclaim the feeling of those first two records. I had almost lost hope that the boys might have another classic in them. That said, I feel that this is the record that the Dayglo Abortions have been striving to make. After decades of trying to successfully bond their love of punk and metal, they’ve finally found the right mix and it’s called Holy Shiite. DGA is one of those bands that everyone knows. If you haven’t heard them, you’ve heard of them. If you live in Canada, chances are that you’ve seen them play dozens of times. Always guaranteed to shock and horrify. For those who truly don’t know, think The Mentors or The Meatmen drinking stronger beer. The record has everything you need to enjoy DGA. First, you have songs about stuff that pisses them off (“America Eats Her Young,” “Scientology”), and then you have songs about stuff that they like (“Let’s Get Drunk,” “Surfer Girl”). You also get songs to make you laugh (“Christina Bin Laden,” “Release the Hostages”) and songs that just plain rock (“How Low Will You Go?” “PUNK SONG”). They also end the CD with their credo, “Fuck the Word (If They Can’t Take a Joke).” It’s the music that makes this one, though. From breakneck speed to heavy, Sabbath-esque dirges, the band is tight. The duelling of Cretin’s unmistakably blown-out voice (he is Canada’s Lemmy) and Gymbo’s beefy vocals really works. Jesus Bonehead and Willy Jak are a solid back line. Love or hate them, they deserve credit for spending the last twenty-five plus years flying the flag of Canadian punk and hardcore. This record has them poised to contaminate yet another generation. I think I’ll go give a copy of this to my fourteen-year-old cousin.
–ty (www.godrecords.com)