5 out of 5

Label: Tortuga

Produced by: Craig Riggs (engineer)

“Yes we’re all gonna fucking die.”  Opening line.  God – so good.

‘Deathchants’ is probably the most comprehensive offering of different Scissorfightery styles, boiled down to a slim and sexy EP package.  I tend to dig pretty much every S-Fight album and track, but of course there are some songs I prefer over others; this disc, meanwhile, is all killer – there’s not a moment on here I’d trade for another.  While it doesn’t necessarily have the more laid back sensibilities that would pop up on Jaggernaut, it does cross over in Mantrapping era rockers – Up in the Country – and New Hampshire-style stompers – like Cadaver Recovery Man.  Mud & Guts even brings back the ol’ Ironlung vocal rumble from the days of yore.  And coming halfway between the group’s final (?) two releases, it gets the tightness of Jag with the gut-punching momentum of the preceding discs.

What more is there to say?  If you know Scissorfight – the ever lovin’ countryfied hardcore rockers – then you know the general gist here.  Ironlung keeps the sillier Planet of Ass lyrics in check in favor of more usual man-nerisms or bragging; creating epic singalongs perfectly enhanced by the raging guitar and drums.  If you don’t know Scissorfight, but your appreciation of metal and an occasional country twang led you here, ‘Deathchants’ is sincerely a great place to start, taking the all-or-nothing approach and actually nailing the former for 6 tracks.