Album Review: AMMO “Web of Lies/ Death Won’t Testify”
review by Ricky Frankel
Album: Web Of Lies/Death Won’t Testify
Band: AMMO
Label: Wallride Records
Score: 8/10
Over the last few years the members of AMMO have teased fans with a two very promising EP’s. The question was, when would we get a proper album from them? Well as soon as we rang in 2022, the band surprised the punk scene by dropping their very first full-length, Web Of Lies/Death Won’t Testify. For those of you who don’t know about AMMO, the band is fronted by Night Birds guitarist, PJ Russo, and between their sound and overall aesthetic, it’s very clear that the band is heavily influenced by classic East Coast hardcore.
For mega Night Birds fans (like me), AMMO is a really interesting side project because you get to hear what PJ Russo’s frontman and lead vocalist skills are like. When it comes to this, Russo totally kills it. Right away, with early tracks like “Blacksite” and “Known Unknown” you are immediately hit with his throaty and rage-filled vocals. Throughout the LP Russo is incredibly unrelenting and does a stellar job.
What also sets AMMO apart from most hardcore bands is their ability to incorporate intricate instrumentation in their songs. They refrain from just mixing together a few quickly played chords with some loud drums and screaming. “Known Unknown” has a great, sudden break down in the middle that changes the whole form of the song that is filled with this treble-y, yet very heavy riffs. Some of the fastest and most thunderous drumming that I have heard in quite a while takes place in the explosive intro to “Slam, Slam, Slam.” In the track “Balance Of Hatred” the band incorporates this very clever switch off between the guitar and vocals where PJ Russo yells, “Fuck!” and then the guitarist plays a massive bend with Russo responding with “You!” followed once again by another wailing bend from the guitar.
For me, if a member of Night Birds is involved in a side project, I will always give it a full listen. They’re quite a talented bunch. When Web Of Lies/Death Won’t Testify was released digitally last month, I gave it one listen and then immediately jumped on the vinyl pre-order. It’s an album where each track is so unique, but at the same time they all fit together so well. It’s not easy to do that in a sub-genre like hardcore punk. And while it is still quite early in the year, I don’t see why this won’t be considered by many to be one of the best overall punk records to come out in the first half of 2022 and one of the best hardcore albums of the year.
***
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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