About twenty years ago, things were simpler between the metalheads and the punks. Shared interests in bands like MOTÖRHEAD, DISCHARGE, ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, and SLAYER created a sort of crossover harmony between those with combat boots and high-top Reeboks. It was a wonderful time period with shaved heads and longhairs bumping and banging into each other at shows with wide grins, and sloppy two-color flyers stapled to telephone poles, advertising HIRAX/RANCID DECAY gigs visible from block to block.

It's been a while since I've heard a band that recalls this time period as precisely as Baltimore's PULLING TEETH. "Vicious Skin" sounds like it was written and recorded in 1986 and locked in a box underneath a bunch of dog-eared Thrasher mags until last year. Vocalist Mike Riley seethes, shrieks, and shouts lyrics like "Plague! Famine! War! Death! We brought this on ourselves!" through track after track of rage and rancor. The guitar team of Tony Hare and Dom Romeo deliver eleven short tracks of brain-crushing speed, stop-on-a-dime chugging, and even some wailing solo flashes from time to time. "Vicious Skin" starts with slow-tempo crush, and takes off in a whirlwind of speeding thrash like an eary ACCÜSED track. The intro to "Prepare for the Worst" is textbook SLAYER, and "Sand and Cells" has an old-school VENOM flavor, despite the tough-guy punk chorus "Eat / sleep / work / die!" repeated just enough to encourage mild furniture smashing. Even the disc artwork is top-notch, with strange monsters, upside-down crosses, decaying cities, skulls, guns, and severed limbs. The disc is mastered by grind legend Scott Hull. Plus, limited copies are available on vinyl. Contact the band at the link below or go to the Chainsaw Safety site and check out PULLING TEETH.

- Marchman

OFFICIAL SITE: myspace.com/pullingteethmd

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