Guitars, Drums, Tones, and Saxophones

Scissorfight - Mantrapping for Sport and Profit

Scissorfight is going to kick your ass. There’s really no way around it. Ironlung and company have delivered this, their fourth proper album, specifically to come and beat the ever-living hell out of you.

These guys are four crusty-sounding metalheads from Portsmouth, NH. The best description of them I’ve ever read painted them as those dudes from high school who loved Skynyrd and southern rock, until one day they discovered punk rock and hardcore, and mixed those influences together, and then took a LOT of acid. “Singer” Ironlung was added to the mix “to look scary.” He sounds scary. And here they are, after a couple of albums featuring songs about dog-fighting monkeys, drunken executioners, pirate captains and the gruesome deaths thereof, and more, back for more.

I admit, their sound has been cleaned up some by this point. It’s not as gritty and sludgy as it was on earlier albums. That said, it hasn’t lost any of its impact, opener “Acid for Blood” wastes no time in launching its droning, pummeling guitar assault, letting up only when Ironlung begins to growl. And on “Hammerdown,” they do just as the title says, bringing an aural hammer down on the listener with crashing drums, and more guitar fuzz than you can shake a stick at.

It’s not all brutal anthems; “New Hampshire’s Alright If You Like Fighting” is… well, ok, it’s crushing as well, just after kind of a quiet intro. “The Most Dangerous Animal is Me” has some less-harsh verses. Gives you a bit of a reprieve from the sonic assault that Scissorfight specializes in. But aside from that, it’s pretty much All Rock All The Time from these guys. And it’s magnificent.

These guys know how to write some gritty, southern-fried metal. The songs all feature prominent grooves that shine through the murk and fuzz on the guitars. This is extremely catchy music. And Ironlung’s vocals have gotten a bit smoother over the years, or at least more varied; he can sing, growl, and shout, and has the good sense to know precisely when to do each.

There are a lot of highlights here. “Acid for Blood,” “Blizzards, Buzzards, and Bastard,” and “Go Cave!” all stand out, but really, the album is a compelling listen front-to-back. This could very well be Scissorfight’s most accessible album (I’d say it’s that or New Hampshire, but New Hampshire is a bit too self-consciously weird to draw in a more casual hard rock/metal fan), and I can see it pulling in many new fans.

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