10 Records Worth To Die For: #240 mit Jason Friedman (Verbal Abuse)

This band was the nastiest, raunchiest fucking doom band ever. When I first heard this record, it just stuck in my teeth. I can only hope to write music that perfectly captures what they are trying to achieve. Every track is a separate soundtrack to suffering.

The sheer aggression of the music, coupled with John yelling like a fucking maniac, has me convinced that NA are the best hardcore band of all time.

This dude ruined punk for me. When I see these bands and their pretty mowhawks, with their patched-up jackets, playing dress up, it drives me nuts. GG was the essence of punk. Not following any fucking scene or or fucking dad. Total destruction and chaos in human form. He was beautiful.

Look, from “Enemy of the Sun” up to “The Eye…”, these dudes steady out out some of the most intense, meaningful, poignant music a band could release. This one just holds a special place in my heart. The track “A Season in the Sky” makes me cry every time I listen to it.

There are no words to explain how fucking perfect this record is. This record almost ruins every HOF record for me. It’s fucking gritty, cavernous, and has some of the most superior riffs I’ve ever fucking heard in my life. “The Yeti” may be the best doom song ever written.

In my opinion, this is the pinnacle of Slayer. A perfect blend of “Show No Mercy” and “Reign…” It is dark and dirty and vicious. You can hear the bass the whole time. It’s sloppy and rushed and aggressive. Sounds like the band is chasing Lombardo.  The recording…the backwards speaking…the fucking drum intro… I mean, seeing that I play in Slayer’s favorite band, it’s important I have an opinion on this… haha.

At 13, this album changed my life. I saw the video for “Where the Slime Lives” on Headbanger’s Ball and it blew my fucking mind. From start to finish, that record is a brutal onslaught of anti-Christian hate and disgust. Trey’s nasty fucking tone inspired me to be a harsh and vicious musician. Part of me wants to say “Covenant” for just how fucking vicious it is, but “Domination” is too meaningful.

Ask anybody who knew me growing up in the hardcore/punk scene, and everyone would tell you that I was fucking obsessed with INTEGRITY. Having Dwid do guest vocals on the last Burden record (“Canonized”…from Germany’s own Subculture for Life) would have made 15 year old Jason shit his pants. There would be no Texas Hardcore without Integrity. Plain and simple. Shit, 70% of modern hardcore is Integrity riffs mixed with Entombed breakdowns.

The opening track…that fucking riff with the stomping drums…that changed music. That was the first ACTUAL breakdown. That was the beginning of doom. That was the creation of the new blueprint. Fuck me. They have so many great records, and I almost picked “Sabotage” or “Volume 4”, but I had to go with my pick. The goddamn record artwork just gets under your skin.

From the first analog Moog sounds all the way to the outro, this album is untouchable. From the punk rock ethics and message… the perfect melodies… the amazing tones and song structures… Gilmour is my spirit animal. I hope to create something this amazing one day.