Nausea

Originally released through virtually unknown label Blacknoise Recordings, this compilation of New York punk/metal crossover quartet Nausea offers nothing more than the opportunity to rediscover what happens when politically-minded anarchists (the band is comprised of former Regan Youth, Chaos UK and Misery members) get together and beef up their gutter punk with metal riffing and the occasional double-kick pattern. It makes your squeegee grime-laden heart skip a beat. Musically speaking, this disc leaves something to be desired. Other than filling a quotient of teenage nostalgia, it does little to incite. Nausea barely break out of the gate into full-on blast beats, preferring to blend restrained Discharge with reserved D.R.I. In terms of lyrical attack however, when one keeps in mind that these tracks are pushing two decades old, they deal with what would now be typical fodder such as religion and the government intelligently. That’s when it becomes apparent that the "political” Anti-Flags of today have no clue what they’re doing on either plain. Direct, packed with vitriol and passion, these cuts prove even more relevant today than when they were all but forgotten in the late ’80s.