By Aleksandr Slakva – 4.2/5 Dragons
From May/Junes’ 2015 Edition – READ MORE ARTICLES, INTERVIEWS  & MORE FREE

It’s no secret to anyone with at least one foot in the metal core and hardcore punk scene that Deez Nuts are one of the biggest acts to come out of Australia, which as a region has earned a rather formidable reputation. JJ Peter’s affiliations with I Killed The Prom Queen aside, it is perhaps for these reasons that their fourth album, “Word Is Bond”, comes off as well polished but somewhat tepid.

Yes, this is supposed to rebel genre, hailing from the place that pop culture has solidified as the one founding fathers of attitude. In fact, the seminal listening of this album indicated no shortage of any of these elements. This album is very reminiscent of all the great things that have happened within the genre over the last half decades, both on the mainstream surface and independent underground. Tracks like “What’s Good”, “Pour Up”, “Word”, “Yesterday” and “Face This On My Own” and “Don’t Wanna Talk About It” all have these particular moments of utilizing crunchy power chord pre-choruses, slowing tempos and menacing vocals (again by JJ Peters), which are actually impressive, or the bass straight up grimy bass line build ups(Alex Salinger), which create some chilling-beatdown Trapped Under Ice-esque moments that guaranteed to clear show floors.

What I found somewhat disinteresting about this album where some of the filler moments in tracks such as Party At The Hill, Yesterday, Understand and The Message. These tracks technically still rooted in the punk genre, but what binds these particular examples are all the boring filler parts of punk: plain respective guitar/vocal sections which add nothing more than longevity to the track.

Ultimately this album reminds me of how I felt about Stick To Your Guns 2013‘Diamond’: All of the band member are actually amazing their roles, and as a band they know how to release an adrenaline fueled, ballistic missile of an album that will temporarily impose a sense of awe to all that witness it. The problem is that will not be the case if you are the sort of fan that seeks to deeply dissect your media for a more substantial meaning. You will not find that “Pour Up”.

In my subjective experience (which is obviously not applicable to everyone),the thing that gives great hardcore a chilling edge is a firm footing within the realm of realistic subject matter. This is an element that extends to artistic mediums aside from music. William Faulkner once famously said that “The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself’”. This is the true chill that gives merit to titans like Trapped Under Ice, because their brand of bludgeoning isn’t just in their sound but their marauding rage and personal nihilism which stems from an individual place outside of social acceptance. If that is too narrow than consider Incendiary’s whose essentially a lyrical volcano of existential deconstructive commentary on the true (lack of) value of a human against the society’s slated socioeconomic scale. It is against this frame of reference that “Word Is Bond” comes of more as fun, angst head banger, but not a real riot-ensuing blood boiler, despite the fact that Deez Nuts definitely have it in them, if they trim the fat and refine their strengths.

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