Unapologetic Punk Fury: Chemical Valley Mutants' 'Poisoned' Album Review!

Unapologetic Punk Fury: Chemical Valley Mutants’ ‘Poisoned’ Album Review!

Artwork for the album Poisoned by Chemical Valley Mutants

Poisoned Review:

Jay Crimson is a bit of a multi-talented fingers in the pie sort of fella. For one, he makes ruff-ass underground movies such as Green Hell (see review for Green Hell here) but also spends a lot of time as the vocalist for hardcore punk thrash band, Chemical Valley Mutants. Their new album, Poisoned was sent to me a few days ago so my Partner in Gore, Willow, and I being both dye in the wool solid metalheads, relaxed with our feet up and listened to some chill out grooves courtesy of Jay…

First up, after a quick movie sample, comes a simple chugging nasty series of guitar riffs with a heavy clunky beat. This is the instrumental intro, Bronson and serves a powerful idea of what is to come. This leads into the very dirty punk tinged, Left Hand Path, where we’re dragged kicking and screaming into the distorted vocal world of Jay Crimson. This is like a brutal throwback to early Metallica, Anthrax, and of course, Slayer (not early style Slayer because those awesome lads have never changed their sound). The distortion on his words is intense but clear enough to hear: “I chose to walk the left hand path… I suffer alone…“

Didn’t Feel a Thing has a no nonsense, GG Allin vibe to it. In fact, I’d say the whole album has that recent Murder Junkies aura surrounding proceedings. This is in a blood ‘n’ beer soaked room along with Death Match Wrestler’s, Shlak and Dan O’Hares band, The Crippler (see review for the album I’m Just Going to Let Myself In here) but with a bit more cig butts, vomit, and broken bottles punk, which certainly isn’t a bad thing.

Jay’s voice has a unique combination of shouts and high-pitched growls, and this serves well with, Vigilante, my favourite tune so far. Thrash and early ‘80s punk! It took me back to my early years as a music suckling. By the way, Willow still favoured the intro, Charles Bronson, thus far, preferring the structure of it. She pointed out the issue with the rest were the vocal volume levels overpowering the music.

Let’s talk about the music, or at least those behind it! Anarchy Equality opens with triplets, and, as Willow said, it’s a very hard technique. Along with, Vigilante, is fucking brutal! It’s pounding explosive drumming and guitar merger makes it impossible to keep your head still. Dan “Goon” Ganim drums like an intense foam mouthed crazy, but it’s Aaron Coates switching rhythm and style strings that makes it pace changing transforming your head bangs constantly. The lyrics are old school politics — god this album is making me want to blast out some Dead Kennedys or Subhumans (not to forget the first and classic, Discharge LP for “fuck the government and those in authority” material).

No Brains has the unfortunate thankless task of following on from that banger, thus it suffers. Altogether, no track outstays its welcome. All but one is less than three-and-a-half-minutes. The one weakness is the flow and order. You have a mass brain-piercing fuck of a song, then a handful that are lesser, which is not helped by the drumming. Dan is brilliant, but whoever decided the running order has sometimes allowed the skin abuse to kind of blend into a wall of similarity.

Chemical Valley Mutants wear their old school influences on their sleeves which I liked. They don’t pretend to be something other than a gang of stinking, trash, lowlife scumbags that make nasty, gritty loud stinking music! Pure trash, in the best way!

Willow commented they aren’t heavy enough for her, “But they are talented.” To be fair, she’s been more an extreme black metal, Mayhem, Cannibal Corpse, and Venom kind of listener since her early teens, as am I, but I grew up on a diet of hard punk too.

“The air we breathe has been poisoned…” The last tune, Poisoned, ends with a finale of utter beautiful chaos.

Album Info:

Band: Chemical Valley Mutants
Album: Poisoned
Members: Jay Crimson (vocals), Aaron Coates (guitar), Dan “Goon” Ganim (drums), Stephen Deford (bass)
Produced by: Two Headed Dog
Engineered by: Brendan Kuras, Randy Willis
Studio: Schwonk Sound Stead
Year: 2023
Country: USA
Art: Mo Dellinger
Runtime: 28min

Label: Self-Released