Bullet Treatment – Dead Are Walking (CD)

The grit in which Ms Liza Graves starts off “Dead Are Walking” is something that seems to even go farther than Joan Jett and Wendy O. Williams and seems to be much more in the vein of Retching Red. The music that Bullet Treatment plays is a pretty fast, thrashy style of punk that is only about one step removed from crust punk. The guitar riffs work perfectly with the drums, but everything is done at such a speed that the style is pretty simplistic. In a sense, the shouted-out chorus of the title track to “Dead Are Walking” parallel “Antisocial” (Anthrax).

The brief reprieve that individuals are given before “Pick Yer Poison” is not enough to keep individuals from getting beat down by the intense style of Liza Graves and the rest of the act. Each of the tracks maintains a high amount of cohesions with the other tracks on the disc. While there are only four tracks on the disc, Bullet Treatment do more than their fair share in creating a specific style that all will not mistake for anyone else’s, and do it over the space of 7 short minutes (each of the tracks here take less than two minutes to complete). The bass takes a much larger part of the track for “Pick Yer Poison”, and allows for the rest of the act to get their time in the sun.

The first track n side B, “In Your Memory” is yet another step up forward for Bullet Treatment. This is due to the fact that Ms Liza Graves adds to eir repertoire an ability to be the focal point of harmony on the track. Another thing to notice is the Bad Religion-esque guitar lines that break free during the track. The virtuosity of the guitar lines on “In Your Memory” are repeated in the chugging bass line of “Sweet Sounds of Rock n’ Roll”. The 7” might only have four tracks on it, but the songs can be repeated numerous times before they start showing any wear and tear. Bullet Treatment take a bold step forward on this disc and really renovate the punk-orck style with their “Dead Are Walking” EP. The lack of noticeable flaws on the disc bodes well for the and, and should be an indicator that the band can transfer their energy on this EP onto a full length without much in the way of problems.

Top Track: In Your Memory

Rating: 6.6/10

Bullet Treatment – Dead Are Walking / 2006 Basement / 4 Tracks / http://www.bulletttreatment.com / http://www.basementrecords.net / Reviewed 07 April 2006

[JMcQ]