Music Review - The Dehumanizers/Deep Throat - A New World Odor; Various Artists - Retro As Hell: A Tribute To The Dehumanizers; The Dehumanizers - The First Five Years (Of Drug Use) - Page 2

“Pig Pharma” is much more typically punk, but the lads’ penchant for Zappa-esque asides is ever-present. Thank God these guys never got jaded; they may wind up as Seattle’s version of Anvil yet.

As for the lean, mean youngsters who call themselves Deep Throat - they do love their punk rock. There is a definite Cali-fornication to their brand of the genre, however. Specifically, the twin towers of Slash and Alternative Tentacles albums of the eighties. “Nothing To Believe,” and “No More Lies” are both prime examples of what this band do best. There is nothing wrong with emulating Fear and the Dead Kennedys in my book.

Deep Throat’s retro-vision fits oddly with The Dehumanizers’ continuous experimentation, but maybe that is the point. The newly released Retro As Hell: A Tribute To The Dehumanizers certainly brings a variety of approaches to classic Dehumanizers songs. Coven’s version of “Mow ‘Em Down,” next to Citizen Useless’ “Everybody Fight,” is a particularly enjoyable one-two punch.

I guess 25 years in the business is enough time to warrant a tribute album, but if you want the real thing, there is also The First Five Years (Of Drug Use). This is a double-disc set featuring the “best” of The Dehumanizers. Actually, one disc is devoted to their so-called hits, featuring such classics as “Guzzo,” and one of my personal favorites, “Grandma, I’m A Drug Fiend.” The second disc is devoted to their long out of print full LP debut, The End Of Time.

Take my word for it, The End Of Time is a stone late-eighties punk classic. In the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that The End Of Time was the very first record review I ever had published, in the dearly departed Seattle freebie rag Backlash. I guess a long-overdue “Thank you” to The Dehumanizers might be in order here. But personal history aside, this is a great band - one of the best you have never heard. Take your pick - old classics, new stuff, or even in a tribute format, The Dehumanizers are timeless, and well worth checking out, for punks old and new.

Who needs punk rock, Lou? We do!

Article Author: Greg Barbrick

Greg Barbrick is a Seattle native who was first published in 1988, in his hometown music magazine, The Rocket. Since then his work has appeared in print and online for numerous sources. He Googles himself so often that his mother told him it would make him go blind.
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