Coke Bust is a Washington DC hardcore band whose music draws primarily from mid-’80s European thrash, a la Heresy and Ripcord, as well as the better corners of the youth crew genre, creating a sound that brings bands such as Scholastic Deth or Betercore to mind. As an open-minded yet firmly identified straightedge band at a time when having such ethos (or having any ethos, really) is at its most uncool, they dig deeper than the usual slogans and trappings of “straightedge hardcore,” writing songs that take on topics such as the less obvious outcomes of drug and alcohol culture, as well as the lesser-known implications of the “war on drugs,” including the US-backed aerial spraying of coca crops in South America. Nick does vocals, Jeremy plays guitar, Jubert plays bass, and Chris spreads himself pretty thin but never slacks on his drum duties.
RECORD RELEASE SHOW! Commitment is an inevitability, set to release their full length, “Fear Of”, on LA-via-Philadelphia label Get Better Records this spring. “Fear Of” packs a punch composed of raw punk, hardcore, and d-beat inspired music that essentially results in fast punk that sometimes includes groove as often as it does blast beats. Lyrically, the themes of “Fear Of “include sexual liberation, sacred rage, vengeance, violence, insecurity, surveillance, overconsumption, social media, and mind control/brainwashing. The band aims to peel off listener’s faces, leaving grinning skulls and exposed brains as the canvas for vocalist Tatiana Salazar’s indoctrination. The formula is quite simple, but the result isn’t.
Conceptually, MELISSA aims to meld the dark, ultraviolent music of the 90s — particularly european black metal — and west coast groove. That or, as they put it, “music to drive really fast to.” I have to say, they got all of that across perfectly. It’s almost like black metal to play at a sleazy party to keep everybody hyped up and doing drugs, or whatever it is that people do at parties.
Philadelphia Straight Edge