GRINNING & UNDERATED
"What a beautiful day to get a new tape", I thought to myself. I stood inside the local record store with $10 in my pocket to spend. I looked around at various tapes but nothing seemed to appeal to me. It was then that my eyes feasted upon the cover of "Return of Martha Splatterhead" by THE ACCUSED (not the orinigal LP B&W cover art but the beautifully illustrated one with Martha in all her knife wielding glory, bulging breasts and all).
I picked it up and read the song titles: Mmmmm...."Buried Alive", "Slow Death", "Autopsy" etc....Was this another one of those death metal bands that I couldn't stand? Now, I'd had pretty bad luck with purchasing a tape for merely the eye catching cover (they always seemed to turn out horrible), but this I couldn't resist.
I bought it and went home ready to be disappointed & regret spending the last of my fundage. Once home I put it in my "jam box" and anxiously pushed play. My ears were filled with some of the best hardcore punk I'd ever heard. It was the vocals that really won me over. Mind splitting screeches with bits of growl thrown in for extra flavor. This guy sounded like he was trying to kill himself by screaming as nasty and menacing as he (im)-possibly could (I've had many ACCUSED arguments with my wife....she hates punk but Blaines voice has a special place in her heart. That place that pushes all the blood possible to her brain causing her to yell & be filled with anger at the sound of the vocals, eventually leading to massive headaches....WOW, anything she hates THAT much has GOT to be a good band in my book). The music: Fast-paced with a dash of heaviness & a certain eerieness even to some of the riffs. I feel in love with the band and over the years bought everything they came out with.
Since then I looked for anything by THE ACCUSED. T-shirts, posters, stickers (on the insert of some of their albums you could purchase this type of stuff but by the time I got any money to spend I figured the offer to be expired).
When all this internet craziness started I just KNEW I'd find some stuff. I searched every punk shirt site & came up empty handed. I surfed for hours through the many bootleg video sites and STILL nothing. This was ridiculous & this is my point to this whole article: THE ACCUSED are so obviously under-rated. Putting out some of the best & most original sounding music this world has to offer. THE ACCUSED don't seem to have the recognition that they so deserve, but on the other hand I rather enjoy having a band "all to myself" & a choice group of friends. Check into THE ACCUSED folks. Treat yourself to the pleasant sounds of Mr. Blaine Cook & friends.
It's been 12 years since I bought that first Accused tape and my closet is still empty, my guitar still not covered & my video collection still incomplete (except for one badly recorded show in Houston) with no Accused. If anyone out there can hook me up with ANYTHING (preferrably some stuff on video) tha twould be mucho excellento!! Get a hold of me.
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