Review Summary: The mayors of gnarlycore return.
The Barbarians of California appeared out of nowhere a couple of years ago, dropping a handful of singles before releasing the excellent debut,
And Now I’m Just Gnashing My Teeth. The two main people behind the project, AWOLNATION’s Aaron Bruno and engineer/producer Eric Stenman both share a love of punk, hardcore and metal since their youth. As the latter worked on various hardcore/thrash metal type songs, Bruno and guitarist Zach Irons expressed interest in contributing. Besides the gnarly riffs and punch they boast, this fun, self-aware approach to the lyrics and image makes it so easy to get into them. For their second LP,
Megatons, the band decided to strip their sound of most melodic detours in favor of distortion, thus, keeping all tracks except one under three minutes long. The production also brings out the low end to their advantage, without losing any edge. Tunes such as “Back to the Valley” and “The Gnarlycore Class” share bulldozing riffs, while Aaron switches between screams and occasional clean vocals. His unhinged style only makes them sound even more urgent. Meanwhile, highlight “Vanilla Latte” blends hardcore punk rhythms with powerful breakdowns. The Californian lifestyle mocking lyrics add to the overall absurdity, which makes everything better. Same goes for the slow burning groove of “Modern Fashion”, whose chorus will have you screaming alongside the scorching, sliding power chords.
The Barbarians left a bit of room for changes in sound, mainly on “Really Really Rad”, which offers some of the heaviest moments here only to suddenly give way to a ‘80s synth disco coda with clean vocals. Somehow it makes sense and keeps things interesting too. Moreover, the group decided to include a “Nothing Else Matters” style acoustic ditty, “Shark Out of the Water”, where Bruno softly croons over the gentle guitar melody. A bit of an oddball, however, it makes for a welcome break from all the distortion surrounding it. Then, the marching beats of “I Am the Submarine” end this album on a thunderous note, full of shredding solos and brick-heavy riffage. The best part about
Megatons and this project in general is its lightheartedness. The guys just want to have fun making these tunes and playing them live, so that vibe instantly gets transmitted to the listener as well. Nevertheless, along the way, they took care to actually craft a tight, cohesive record well worth listening to.
