MAXIMUM ROCK-N-ROLL #177 - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
Low down, shit under the fingernails grungabilly that's actually quite stellar for this long dead and festering genre.
Y'know that vintage CRAMPS thing but even as Lux and co. themselves has forgotten, the secret is in the FUZZ!!!!
And hot damn, all 4 tunes has fuzz like nobody's business, fuzz that gets inside the entire length of your GI tract,
causing all manner of bodily consternation and distess. Fucking fuzziest record I've heard in years, guitars that sound
fucked up, vocals that sound fucked up. Imagine if the CHROME CRANKS were a good band, imagine taking all of "Songs the
lord taught Us", chewing it up and puking the contents out, imagine Alan Vega twitcin' in his grave, and multiply the whole
shitpile by two! Words do not do Justice.
PUNK PLANET - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
Psycotic hillbilly noise that is hard on the ears and bad for the psyche. In other words, you should really get a hold of
this!
SAVAGE - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
Extremely cool single from these guys outta Buffalo. Evil, garagey, noisey rock-n-roll squall. First side is more "voodoo evil"
while B-side is more down to earth r-n-r! It's really fucking great stuff!!!! "Chloe and Clyde" rocks like a mutha...I'd place this
next to my Beguiled/Neccessary Evils platters, and it will stand up to them. Reverb-drenched all the way down to the fiery holes of
hell. Look for an LP and 7" on Dee-troits' Flying Bomb Records soon. But first...GET THIS!
MULTIBALL - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
Totally debilitating garage punk, not even slightly foreign to a Baseball Furies or Necessary Evils fan. "Cannibal Lust"
oozes an eros for the ages, "Chloe and Clyde" is all ephedrine and bop, with the occasional feedback issues. Strong first
outing.
ETCH MAGAZINE - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
4 songs of pure minimalist garage mayhem. Songs so raunchy you should get greasy just listening to them. A good choice
if you're looking to buy.
HIT LIST - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
Man this shit is way fucked up...obviously these guys are into over the top trash sound and fans of that stuff will flip
over these four songs.
BUFFALO BEAT - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
The Blowtops are monster punk--all kinds of loud, very rude, and scary in an engaging way. Taking the best elements of Lux
Interior, George Romero, and Ron Asheton, the Bowtops are the perfect candidate to kick your ass! Their new record,
"Voodoo Alley", takes lo-fi to new extremes, filling every possible groove with heavily effected vocals and overdriven
raunch. Stinky as hell. To say "Cannibal Lust," or "Simple Taste" is the best Buffalo garage refuse since the mid-eighties
would not be pushing it. An essential docment of an under-represented genre.
NIGHT LIFE MAGAZINE - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
You say you like loud, rough, trashy sounding 1960's garage rock and punk, as well as 70s and 80s versions of that approach?
Well, this 4 song 7-inch is something you should acquire. Hig fidelity is not a problem or a concern here, the basic,
straight forward, rugged sounding garage rock would be a bit hard on some ears to begin with in its apparent one take
approach, but with coproducer Mr. Ski-Mask working with members of the band Andy and Aaron, some virtual white noise
accompanies several songs and flavors all. The record starts with "Voodoo Alley" a loud crashing 60's and 70's garage
blast of punk rock with piano adding a STOOGES "Raw Power" feel, the vocals are all but intelligable, but with the
screaming producing some seminal emotion, who cares? The song has a great nasty guitar rhythm riff and stinging, slightly
distorted solo straight out of 60's psychedelia and punk. "Cannibal Lust" follows with fast shuffling drums, another rough
riff and then the rest of the band joining in for some fun but slightly evil-sounding punk from all the above mentioned
eras. Side two starts with "Chloe and Clyde" with a snarling surf/garage guitar riff, throbbing bass and crashing drums,
again I can barely make out more than one our two words per verse, but the music, a bit rough and trebly with some
distortion is fantastic. "Simple Taste" ends things with a faster noisier sound, the vocals are about the same as before,
but the music takes an even harsher and more 60's feel, and the guitars still have some pop and melodic touch to them.
THE KINGS OF TRASH R'N'R - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
I think this was their debut record, and man does this kick. Great horror swamp rock, sort of like the Scientists meet
Pussy Galore. Any or their releases are well worth looking for cause all of them will stay on your turn table for weeks at
a time.
TRASH TIMES - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
The vox are buried on this one, maybe even more than normal. The effect turns out a Bat Cave feel. Total garbage tones
all fuzzed up to heck make for an impressive mess. The flip is more bluezy with mic in a bucket reverb tones. Another
winner for The Blowtops. both raw and wild.
WSUM - THE BLOWTOPS "Voodoo Alley" EP
Very spastic, very distorted. I can't even figure out what speed to put the record player on, but I think it's actually supposed to be played at 33, not 45. At either speed, you're getting some raw ass rock 'n roll, and not a moment too soon.
CARBON 14 - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
The Blowtops got a blues swagging garage punk from the underworld thing going on. Starts off with a tub-thumping blast, almost a Black Flag edge, well, vocally. This shit gets fuzzed
out, deadly and curling a death scream by the middle of the wax. Loud, noisy, almost painful, and you'll dig every minute of it. Pure ugliness in it's lo-fi, Troma Punk squalor.
Check it out and watch them drums bleed.
HORIZONTAL ACTION - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
The latest 10" release from these docktors of dementia is as always, recorded with enough nerve wrecking fuzz and reverb to wake the dead and make them dance. Every song from
start to finish is demonic and violent in form reminiscent of early Cramps and Dwarves (Horror Stories era). They slow down only to twist Alice Cooper's "Black Juju" coming off
just as eerie as the original. If you dig this record you'll dig their first LP "Deep Thrust" recorded by Jim Diamond. Finally a band that can play real horror inspired
Rok-n-Row.
CAUSTIC TRUTHS - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
10" release will concurrently wreak havoc on your stylus and your nerves. Outrageous and violent; imagine The Brainbombs with rockabilly riffs and you've got a pretty concise
warning/reccomendation. Considering what's being heralded as "rock" nowadays, this heady brand of psychosis easily garners a...!!!!!(5 out of 5 exclamation points)
HEAD IN A MILK BOTTLE - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
Christ! This is some fucked up shit! 8 tracks of noisey, fuzzed out, chaotic rock-n-roll. This will scare the bejesus out of anybody! The perfect combination of lo-fi garage,
Dwarves-style raw punk-n-roll, and abrasive noisecore. Not only is this a fucking phenominal record, it can also be used to get unwanted party guests the hell outta your house,
or to annoy those neighbors on sunny spring afternoons when you've got all your windows wide open and the hi-fi cranked. If you've got their full-length LP on Flying Bomb or the
Estrus 7" you pretty much know what to expect. All Hail Big Neck Records for releasing this baby!!
MAXIMUM ROCK-N-ROLL - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
This is sleazy and evil, taking me right back to the nights I've spent laying in a ditch by the side of the road, seein in red, white and black,
running through the streets with no shoes, smoking crack on the street corner with some crazy lady as we cry together over our broken hearts.
These songs sort of speak through some sort of malt liquor haze, like the music you would hear as you came into consciousness, looking
up from the carpet of some cheap hotel and wondering how you got there. Distorted guitars, METEORS, redneck BIRTHDAY PARTY. They do a cover of
"Richard Hung Himself" by DI which is slower than the original but still good.
BLANKGENERATION.COM - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
Horror Rock! The Blowtops are a chaotic fire of lofi trash with grotesque undertones. If you merged the Reatards' soul to the Persuaders' body you’d have the Blowtops! There’re 8 songs on this sucka including, "Demon Rum",
"High Priestess Disturbed", and "Black Ju Ju." Bonus – the vinyl is gray, like the sky over where the Blowtops play their loathsome rock ‘n’ roll.
CYCLOPS ZINE - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
"Blood and Tar" is the latest 10" from The Blowtops on Big Neck Records. They released their debut 7", "Voodoo Alley", on Big Neck Records, a full length record
on Flying Bomb and a 7" on Estrus. So this is a homecoming of sorts. If you’re not familiar with the Blowtops, they play a ferocious brand of rock n’ roll with a large
dose to voodoo thrown in for spice. Side one kicks off with "Demon Rum." It starts off with a marching drum beat then this creepy guitar and Creepy Dave’s
spooky vocals come in. Creepy Dave is wailing about the evils of that voodoo liquor. Finally when the chorus kicks in all hell breaks loose. This a good stuff.
"Richard Hung Himself" is a cover of the old D.I. song. The Blowtops put their own stamp on this punk rocker. The volume and intensity get turned up a few notches
. The subject matter is right down the Blowtops dark alley. It goes, "Richard hung himself. Richard hung himself. It happened just the other day. Jesus went and
pushed him off the shelf..." Side Two begins with "Brasshead Smash." It starts of with a blast of noise, breaks it down, noise, breaks it down, noise. You get the idea
It’s about bustin’ your head, or rock n’ roll or something. Hell, I’m not sure. One thing I am sure of is it rocks. Another perfect choice in cover material is Alice
Cooper’s "Black Juju." Now I know Alice Cooper. One of the guys I use to ride to school with had an eight-track of "Welcome To My Nightmare." That's the only
damn thing he played every day, so I know Alice Cooper. This is a good cover of Alice Cooper. My favorite part of the record is when Dave is singing "bodies
need rest" over and over. He get quieter each time he sings it until his voice is just a whisper. Of course the whole bands comes screaming back in and I jump out
of my skin. This is some scary ass rock n’ roll. Get "Blood and Tar" from BIG NECK RECORDS.
ROCKTOBER - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
Desparate wickedness that seems to be more devoted to conjuring demons than to rocking the crowds. The guitar sounds bring to
mind destroying murder evidence in a wood chipper.
HIT LIST - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
This is one stellar piece of lo-fi damaged punk rock. This shit is raw, dirty, and evil,
and I love it. It reminds me of the REATARDS and the CLONE DEFECTS. On the mighty fine BIG NECK LABEL.
SMASHING TRANSISTORS - THE BLOWTOPS "BLOOD AND TAR" 10" EP
I first heard about this band from Andy at Flying Bomb who was raving about them. He'd mention how dark and psychotic they were. I respect his opinion very much but after
hearing the record he released by them I was left scratching my head. Too much Bauhaus and not enough Cramps for my treble drenched tastes. Since I was curious if I was
missing something I went to see them live and was still left cold. "What the fuck?!" I'd think "He's wearing black eyeliner." Their sound was muddy but not in a Mississippi
River way...I dunno...maybe more like puddle in a Walgreen's parking. It just did not move me.
A few weeks ago this comes in the mail. I hold Bart at Big Neck in the same regards as I do Andy but my face had a pained look after I pulled this record out of the
envelope. "Aw man..." I put it on my turntable thinking "Well, if I play it once I can then say I heard it then I file it in the back of the pile." When the needle hit's
the groove I am taken a back. It lunges out of the speakers wielding a rusty kitchen knife hoping to hit a vital artery and making the blood spill. Really !!! As where
previous records by them made me wonder if the wanted to own a hearse because Herman Munster drove one for a dayjob I now think they're gunning for taking the one off
the hands of the creepy old man from "Phantasm". Now if I could cope with the make-up thing...
CRIMEWAVE MAGAZINE - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
These guys are masters of horror rock with their mix of garage sound and white noise. The Blowtops are very good with their brand of distaste and shock for their second full-length album. "Black Static" kinda sounds like a serial killer plotting his murders and carrying them out in a horrific, but focused fashion. The victims (your ears) will die either way. Highlights include "Honey Head Bloody Moon", “Criminal/Animal/Expendable”, “Sixteen” and “Flesheater Receiver”. One of the best CDs I’ve heard all year. Top ten list, baby.
ROCK-N-ROLL PURGATORY - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
Sweet Jesus walking on the water, this is insane. Noisy and intense as all hell breaking loose in a lunatics mind. This is dirty and chaotic, but also rhythm bound with the combustibility of a Buddhist Monk in a protest. Songs like "Criminal/Animal/Expendable" and "Honey Headed Bloody Moon" are incredible. I guess you might say this is vicious artpunk that has an almost industrial churn to it. It can be dark and ugly enough to inspire masochistic frenzies. The singer sounds so unhinged that it is hard to imagine him avoiding bloodshed in concert. An intense listen for sure…get it, but be careful not to listen to it in a fragile emotional state.
UP YOURS - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
Another BigNeck feature with a new release last year are THE BLOWTOPS. This band has remained in former hometown of BigNeck, Buffalo, NY and have skilled themselves in a hellish creation on angst, horror, nightmare and any variety of psychosis. "Black Static", the new BLOWTOPS ain't no different. The bands musical outcome is based on manical, screaming, angst-ridden vocals, distorted, amputated and disgruntled feedback guitars, a blatant and bludgeoning rhythm section pushing and shoving the whole lot into mental oblivion. Each and every song sounds as if it a fought battle on its very own, as if different ghosts need to be overcome or need to be destroyed to come out without a therapeutic result which might suit as a guideline for yet unaware. THE BLOWTOPS have learned to make good use of their inevitable influences (Pussy Galore, Scientists, Birthday Party, Lubricated Goat, King Snake Roost) and turned them into a aural sonic mayhemgrinder at very, very, very good result!! The world of THE BLOWTOPS is haunted and spooked, is desperate, but the bands battles are pieces of diabolic beauty.
PUNKROCKS.NET - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
Second long-player (that I know of) from Buffalo’s kings of gloomy, gallows garage, and it is a scorcher. Sounding akin to a car crash of The Birthday Party, The Stooges, The Cramps, Pussy Galore, New Wave Theater muddled with a contemporary bend of say, a gothic Piranhas meets old Jon Spencer, The Blowtops are definitely a acquired taste. They’re noisy, rhythmically abstract, noisy, dark, angry, and did I mention fucking noisy?
I happen to love the living shit out this record. Particularly the disjointed rock and roll blast of “Honeyhead Bloodsmoon”, the pure fury of “Ward Infinite” or the Iggy-esque mania of “Flesheater Receiver”; from a whisper to a seizure like frenzy, the vocals are what Mark E. Smith of The Fall would sound like if he had family nestled in Detroit, yet made a point to shoot smack with Iggy on the weekends. Like The Cramps’ Lux Interior, there is mic swallowing aplenty, noises of unknown bodily origin; gasps and shallow breathing, hiccups, screeches, howls, cackles and any number of psychotic manifestations layered like coffin dirt onto any number of gloomy, fuzz-laden melodies. I would hazard to guess the members of the Blowtops are familiar with the work of seminal death-rock gods The Gun Club; you can almost feel the spirit of Jeffrey Lee Pierce shaking among the ruins. “Prescription Malfunction” has Link Wray and Kid Congo double teaming Poison Ivy for some kind of bass thudding, guitar vibrating spook-a-thon (that ends in what appears to be a complete vocal homicidal breakdown). And whether you like The Blowtops or not, there can be no discounting their ability to both rock like fuck and scare the shit out of you. It’s an energizing, almost invigorating record; one that slaps the senses wide awake with morbid curiosity; like watching a spirited religious cleansing that ends in broken limbs and voiceless screams; the resurrection of rock and roll’s darkest skeletons doing a voodoo shimmy with Roky Erikson and Professor Longhair.
‘Blackstatic’ is a ballsy, bluesy, brash and unrestrained affair. And when absorbed in it’s entirety, I couldn’t help but conjure up psychedelic swirls and punk rock nightmares. Yet despite all of the raw vocal intensity and dark guitars, ‘Blackstatic’ turns out to be one cacophonous barrel of fun. Fed by infinite manic energy and captivating originality, The Blowtops have managed to kill off the derivative skinless bastard called modern punk rock, by cradling the mischievous soul that lies dormant underneath.
GARAGE AND BEAT - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
Here come the electrodes... here come the electrodes... here come the electrodes. This is a hell of a noisy rock aggregate and this disc pushes the sonic assault up a notch or two. The intro is a fairly pleasant organic instrumental dirge. When the vocals kick in on the next track, the gloves come off and the tension mounts. The band has to work extra hard to keep an edge going that won't get lost in the vocal harangue. The boys get loud and quirky with radio unfriendly blasts of "Tailor Made Psychosis," "Honeyheaded Bloodymoon," "Flesheater Receiver," "Underhanded Overkill" and eight other chunks of rythmic mayhem.
SLEAZEGRINDER.COM - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
Florida is where people go to die on purpose, upstate New York is where they do it by accident. It's no great wonder, then, why Buffalo's darkest hearts, the Blowtops, infuse their brand of rattleshake trash punk with images of flesh eating psychos and teenage serial killers and toxic burnouts- it's in their blood, if not their backyard. Sonically speaking, "Blackstatic" takes it cues from the classic Cramps/Misfits school of berserk creepabilly, shaded in nicely with the same kind of haunted slither you'd find in the shadows of the Murder City Devils or the Lanternjack, and played more for apocalyptic effect than for proficiency. Thematically speaking, the Blowtops probably know more about Albert Fish than any decent folks ought to. The combination is not unlike a rocket-powered hearse ride- deadly, scary, but unmistakably efficient at it's ghoulish task. Two weeks away from Buffalo and they'd probably be writing love songs and changing their clothes on a regular basis, but nobody ever escapes from there anyway.
MAXIMUM ROCK-N-ROLL - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
Me likes. Total in-your-face savage rock-n-roll. Total chaos, total mayhem, totally sexy, I'm in love with that crude guitar, grungy bass, and hostile blood-n-guts vocs. It's like the CRAMPS with ten times the speed and hostility. I feel inspired I'm gonna go fuck something up...
SUSPECT DEVICE - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
More stellar Buffalo, NY ROCK-N-ROLL with a touch of evil. This record might have you selling your soul to the devil and moving to Buffalo, but then you realize how close you would be to Canada and settle for the desert and a good record player.
GARBAGE DUMP FANZINE - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
The BLOWTOPS are harsh, rude, scary and crude. This second album shows why you should lock carefully the doors when these cats are in town... 12 primitive and fuzzed out raunchy-garage stompers that seem to have been blessed with a headless chicken's bleeding neck by Baron Samedi himself are the only thing you'll find on this album: the rhythms are desperate and the singer's voice is very intense and really fucked up, and when it comes to tracks like "Underhanded Overkill" it'll give shivers down your spine... horror soaked garagey-punk rock fury in a vein just the very first GUN CLUB could have played if ol' Jeffrey Lee had a Leatherface tattoo on his chest is what expect you when playing this record, so beware, 'cause this shit can hurt feelings... it's so real and stripped down and fucked up... the way I love. A big thumb up for this record, go for it if you still have a dark side in your soul.
BLANKGENERATION.COM - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
The second full-length from Buffalo's very own horror-noise mongers. I hear people relate them to the Cramps often, most likely because of Creepy Dave's Lux-inspired vocals and live antics, and any band that melds horror into their music gets the obligatory Cramps reference. Musically, I have always seen them as something close to The Scientists in their creepier moments. "Black Static" is sure to be called the Blowtops "rock" album, as it is probably their most listener-friendly effort so far. The extreme sonic assault is toned down somewhat, yet still full of the usual jerky rhythms and lyrical psychosis. If the first LP was a mad slasher, randomly slicing and killing people in a blood-splattered tornado of horror without abandon, then "Black Static" is a serial killer plotting his murders and carrying them out in a horrific, yet focused fashion. The victims (your ears) die either way. Highlights include "Honey Head Bloody Moon" and "Prescription Malfunction", trademark Blowtops numbers full of noise and feedback. Some fans may be put off by the clean sound, as it is definitely the cleanest production you're ever going to find on a Blowtops record. Yet the album shows a steady progression in the Blowtops music. They occupy a niche that few, if any, bands do these days. It probably falls somewhere in between the "Deep Thrust" LP and the "Blood & Tar" ten-inch on the sickness scale. I like this thing a lot, and it begs for repeated listening more than any of their other records. They have focused their attack, which has reigned in some of their previous excesses in a good way. Big Neck delivers the swag once again. By the way, since the recording of this LP the Blowtops have replaced both their bassist and drummer. Live dates with the new line-up are coming soon.
CYCLOPS ZINE - THE BLOWTOPS "BLACKSTATIC" CD/LP
“Blackstatic” is the second full-length album from Buffalo’s masters of horror-rock, the Blowtops. Who else but Big Neck Records has the cajones to release this one. The band says this is their all out rock album and it does rock. It’s loud, noisy and full of horror movie images. It ain’t kids stuff. “Come On In” kicks off the album with a minute of pure noise. That leads into Creepy Dave screaming “criminal…animal…expendable” on “Criminal/Animal/Expendable.” This song flies along outta control until it ends with Creepy Dave coming all unglued. “Sixteen” is great with its stop-and-go rhythm. It’s about some alcohol induced suicide, I think. “Sixteen days until they found me. Slit my throat, my own hand.” “Underhanded Overkill” slows the pace down. This is the Blowtops version of a ballad. It’s still noisy and scary as hell though. “You don’t’ like the car I drive well, you can ride in the trunk…Some people call it love. I call it killing time.” “Greasy Jack” has a “Hand Jive” rhythm to it. It has a bunch of twisted takes on kids nursery rhymes. “Greasy Jack is stickin’ Jill. Learned to sin up on the hill. Jack goes up and Jill goes down. Twist the wheel and broken crown.” The record ends the way it started with the noisefest “You Can't Get Out.” It’s about a minute of feedback, distortion and screams. This is the Blowtops strongest effort to date. You better turn on all the lights when you listen to this one, because it’s scare the bejesus out of you.
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