LETS GO FAST OK!? Against the Grain bring the "Motor City Speed Rock"

So I was just doing my usual harmless Bandcamp trawl, I wasn’t really looking for anything in particular but a stream of particularly mellow music had me lulled into a false sense of security. Due to that I was completely unprepared for what was coming for me when I clicked play on Against the Grain‘s album, “Motor City Speed Rock”.

“Holy Fucking Shitballs” was the one thought in my head as a supercharged cannon of punk came barreling into my ear likes a thousand V8 muscle cars. They go fast, like hyped up on speedballs, a line of cocaine and a couple liters of high octane race fuel, if you blink you’ll miss the album.

Usually when you get a band trying to pull every fast and aggressive card in the book you end up with an irritating mishmash of noise as the bands musical chops can’t keep up with their creative ambitions. Against the Grain suffer none of the problems however, with their eyelid peeling speed coupled with a solid grasp of catchy riffs and songs that are just downright fun.

They take some solid Sabbathian grooves and then throw that shit in the fire, douse it napalm and sprinkle it with moonshine just to get it up to speed. It’s the polar opposite of sludge, thanks to a diet of speed, crack and meth instead of bong hits and whiskey. The riffs are instantly comfortable as rock and stoner staples but it’s the speed that they’re carried out at that makes this album so damn enjoyable.

I wasn’t able to find a Facebook page for these Detroit destroyers so I’m left to fill in the blank information with some educated guesses that involve lots of beer, booze, blown speakers and DIY ethic. I have a feeling this is one of those bands that has been grinding it out in their local scene for years with nothing more than a couple pats on the back and their own drive to make music as motivation.

Either way you won’t find a finer chunk of rubber melting speed punk this side of state lines. This is the soundtrack to a thousand drunken mosh pits and hundred different broken bar stools. “Motor City Speed Rock” is that rager that goes all night long, then beats up the cops, steals their cars and rips down for a little trip to Mexico. It’s big, burly and ‘murican, all black smoke and raw fuel, just like the behemoths their hometown used to produce.

“Motor City Speed Rock” is up for a name-your-price option and Bandcamp. I wasn’t able to find a Facebook page but there is a Myspace if your so inclined. Links lie below so put that hammer down and get bangin’.

Against the Grain Bandcamp