Review Summary: P o w e r v i o l e n t . . .
Yacopsae (actually typed as Yacøpsæ but for ease of typing I will be referring to them as Yacopsae throughout this review) are a band from Germany. They formed in 1990 and decided that it would be cool to be a super-fast, super-aggressive, super-loud hardcore band. They released a ***-load of splits with bands like Inner Conflict and although they began as just a guitarist/vocalist and drummer twosome, bassist Frank joined in 1996 and the line-up has stayed the same since.
After releasing a few EPs, then their first LP “*** Punk Rock… This Is Turbo Speed Violence!!” in 1998, things began to get serious. There were more tours (and more splits) and then in 2001, Yacopsae released “Einstweilige Vernichtung”. As powerviolence goes, it’s pretty sweet but got nothing on this album, “Tanz, Grosny, Tanz...”, which was released in 2007. Yacopsae actually got pretty famous as a result of their numerous covers of pop, punk and metal songs, with their covers of
The Cure’s 'Boys Don’t Cry' and
Deep Purple’s 'Smoke on the Water' being particularly amusing.
However, there aren’t any covers on this album. Instead, what you get is some awesome riffs and drumming that will satisfy any fan of powerviolence and/or grindcore. It’s difficult to describe an album when it is more in-your-face than your ***ing eyeballs. I don’t know if that was a very good metaphor but it’s accurate in my mind so I’ll probably just leave it in. There are a few tracks where things get chilled out a bit, like on 'Drama' but don’t worry, before the song even ends we’re back to the blisteringly fast blastbeats, etc.
Perhaps the best (and most famous) track on the album is 'Frost'. Beginning with a simple riff and then manically jumping into some inspired, simplistic riffing around the 30-second mark, it is definitely the song that will stick in your head for longest. But make sure you’re playing it nice and loud; like most powerviolence, you can’t be half-hearted in listening to it. There are 25 tracks in all and most of them are minute-long whirls of fury and controlled aggression. By the time you reach the final track 'Vogelfrei', you feel pumped as ***. So what do Yacopsae do? Oh, they slow things down just a little bit before winding it all down.
So what can I say? The vocals are excellent throughout, as is the drumming, as are the riffs and as is the bass-playing. I don’t really see what there is to dislike, if you in any way are a fan of powerviolence or grindcore, just make sure you get this as soon as ***ing possible.
Peace.
