Reviews | Brutality and Bloodshed for All: The Rockabilly vibe of GG Allin and the Murder Junkies

By Mondo Carnage

When someone mentions GG Allin, or even the Murder Junkies, one does not think of the distinct musical sound they have. Most people think of GG and the band's antics, such as GG rolling in his own feces, urinating on the audience, fist fighting with the audience, and beating himself to a bloody pulp; or the band's naked drummer, Dino, who is also known for some strange behavior as well (As a matter of fact, I remember a story that the editor of this magazine told me, about how his own band played a show with the Murder Junkies on the bill. Pretty much, the venue owner's wife was scolding Dino for trying to get naked, so he shoved a drum stick up his ass and threw it at a wall, where it stuck due to the feces covering the drumstick).

However, this article is not about all that. It's about the sound structure of The Murder Junkies' debut album, Brutality and Bloodshed for All.

Since this month's issue was originally supposed to be about punk rock's connection to '60s garage rock and '50s rockabilly and rock 'n roll, I figured I'd use this album as prime example. Ignoring GG's lyrics and vocals (which are great in their own right, but do not show the rockabilly influence of the music), we're going to look at Bill Weber's guitar work.

On this album, right of the bat you're treated to the blasphemous song “Highest Power” which has some weird rockabilly guitar work during the verse. Same goes with the second song, “Kill Thy Father, Rape Thy Mother”, again with a weird '50s rock sound. The next song, "Anal Cunt", however, takes from a '70s and '80s hard rock sound, but then comes the song "Raw, Brutal, Rough, and Bloody", which has a very crude '60s garage rock structure to the main riff.

Then come the straight up punk songs, “Shoot, Knife, Strangle, Beat and Crucify” and “I Kill Everything I Fuck”. Although being almost purely typical punk songs, they have some stereotypical riffs and solos that have been used in rock 'n roll since the '50s, especially during the chorus and solo of "I Kill...".

After that, a similar formula of rockabilly riffs continue with “Shove That Warrant Up Your Ass”, and then even more riffs and fills that send a tribute to the rock 'n roll of the '50s with “My Sadistic Killing Spree”. Then, back to the typical-punk-sounding “I'll Slice Yer Fucking Throat”, and the heavy metal-sounding “Terror in America”.

Then the song “Fuck Off, We Murder” comes on, and the solo is straight out of '50s rock 'n roll, and it's totally awesome and ends in just total punk rock rage. After that, in a similar rockabilly/punk rock mishmash, we have the songs “Take Aim and Fire” ,“Bastard Son of a Loaded Gun”, and “Legalize Murder”. Finally, we have the album's title song, which pretty much sums up the sound of the overall album: a weird combo of punk, rockabilly, death metal, and pure carnage. A musical masterpiece.

Columns | Rancid Vat: The Most Underrated Punk Band In Existence

by John Stahlman


I'm here to talk about Rancid Vat.

In case you bastards are illiterate, I'm talking about the punk band that came out of the hell hole of Portland, Oregon (not that I think it was bad, but the band hated their city of origin, so it is best to describe it in a term they would like).

Not Rancid.

So this article will in no way mention the band Rancid again, because no way in hell are they underrated. Rancid Vat, on the other hand, is.

Formed sometime in the '80s the band has gone through many line up changes, with the husband and wife duo of  Phil Irwin and Marla Vee. Despite their unique and ahead-of-their-time sound, this band has never gotten the respect they deserved throughout their three eras (being the Portland, Philly, and Austin line-ups). Maybe it's because they did their own thing and rejected (and still reject) trends throughout their 30-something years of playing.


The first era was the Portland line-up of Phil Irwin (guitar), Marla Vee (drums), Eric Larsen (bass) and Steve Wilson (vocals). They started out as a noise rock group (due to Phil not knowing how to play traditional chords at the time) and got their name from dicking around with a Ouija Board, asking "spirits" what to call their band.

Eventually the band developed a very sludgy sound, reminiscent of the Seattle grunge bands that came into popularity in the next decade. Most of their lyrics were extremely nihilistic, with songs about murder, rage, and also contempt for the punk music scene at the time being trendy. Personally, it's a breathe of fresh air to listen to a band that goes back to the old themes of "no future" and "fuck off", since it seems more relatable for those trapped in a music scene that has been taken over by rules.

Not only this, but they have also written songs praising their favorite wrestlers at the time, and even covered wresting theme songs and music groups that they played with (such as Antiseen).

One of the main interesting aspects to the band's sound during the Portland days is Steve Wilson's vocals, which are extremely atypical in punk music: he sounds like a very menacing and mentally unstable John C. Reilly.

Songs to check out from this line up include "Apathy" (my favorite from the band), "Face Full of Teeth" (Antiseen cover, but it out-does the original), "Deeds of the Damned", "HHHH", and "When the Rolls Called Down Under".


After creating a bit of buzz, the band got a chance to move away from Portland, and they relocated to Philly, while unfortunately leaving Eric Larsen (who was previously fired) and Steve Wilson behind.

However, the Philly line-up became a force to be reckoned with. With the Cosmic Commander of Wrestling (RIP) fronting them, it added a more chaotic element to their sound with his extremely raspy and intense voice. This was actually the line-up that got me into them, and I wish I could've witnessed seeing this version of the band live.

Recommended songs from this line-up include "Hostile City U.S.A.", "Rock N' Roll Fraud", "Loser Leaves Town", and "Live Radio Fiasco" (includes a cover of Adrian Street's "Breaking Bones").


After some success touring with long time friends Antiseen, and other insane acts like the Murder Junkies and Hammerlock, the band again relocated, this time to Austin, Texas, and recruited Texas Studd as their new vocalist (as the Cosmic Commander decided to remain in his hometown of Philadelphia). Although a bit weak compared to the other previous vocalists, he does a pretty damn good job.

Recommended songs include  "Die Hipster Die", "Imagine What I Could Do To You" (another Adrian Street cover), and "We Hate You All The Way From Texas".

Despite the line-up changes, they always had a "no bullshit" approach to punk rock, let alone rock music in general—An element that has been missing for some time, and is probably why they do not get the respect they deserve, or even taken seriously due to their noise rock origins—Which is bullshit, since everything they released does not sound dated, at all, and elements from even their earliest material can be heard in modern day bands.

John Stahlman is the current bassist of the punk trio Omission and has also been in numerous other bands in the northwestern Pa scene, including Paint Thinner, TxSxOxDx, Made Not Born, Wydell, and Choke The Bastard (now Vermin Warfare). He has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Pittsburgh at Bradford and majored in Broadcast Communications with a minor in Public Relations, if that has any merit to it anymore. While at college he hosted a few radio shows at the campus' student radio station WDRQ1620 AM, most notably the Underground Vault, which played local music, and also covered the Biological and Health Sciences department while writing for the student newspaper The Source. Stahlman is currently unemployed, in debt, and has gotten to embrace even more of his nihilistic punk rock view of life.