Every so often, it’s good to see a band that still leads the good old rock’n’roll lifestyle. And I don’t mean the big «house, p*rnstar wife» way, i mean the «sex, drugs and beer» way. The Hammer Cocks are just such a band.
In fact, the band’s mentality can best be summed up by a line from
Gettin’ High: «sex, drugs and rock’n’f**ing roll!!» Now
this is what i call an attitude!
The Hammer Cocks are alledgedly a Texan rock’n’roll outfit whom I had never actually heard of until I bought their CD at a low price. I became a fan right on the spot.
The group’s musical style is easy to guess by looking at the back cover: masks, guitars and chicks with guns are a dead giveaway. Yup, you guessed it – the band play a particularly dirty, brash streak of Mötorheadian rock’n’roll. The riffs reek of Ramones and Generall Lee Drunk’s growled vocals constantly remind us of Lemmy. As for the solos, it could have been Phil Campbell playing them. Apart from the aforementioned influences, the band also show some touches of Zeke and Entombed.
This is definitely not the type of album that stands out for its variety. As with Mötorhead, all the songs sound more or less the same, and the emphasis is on fun rather than technicality. The lyrics also reflect this tendency, as they mostly talk about sex, beer and goats(¡) .
Of course, not
every song is the same.
Goat Farm is a furious hardcore blast,
When The Cops Come Out is pure Ramones and occasionally there’s a more technical riff thrown in here and there. But generally, this is the kind of album that should be listened to at top volume, preferably while holding an icy-cold beer.
The fun-loving attitude of this group is also evident in the monikers they adopted (particularly brilliant is that of guitarist Jack Sh/t) and in the album’s artwork. The entire booklet is made up of a superbly drawn comic where the group swiftly inserted a few of their choruses and song titles. And believe me, it’s hilarious.
All in all, this album is likely to have you either rolling with laughter or rocking with all your strenght. Or both. For exactly this reason, it is a very impresive debut and one that is strongly reccommended to all the Zeke and Mötorhead fans out there. As Bill and Ted would put it...«party on, dudes!»
Reccommended Tracks
Green Beer
Cops Come Out
Boner’s Goin’ Down
Dukes Of Hazzard
