Melt-Banana

Originally a limited release seven years ago, Japan's Melt-Banana has re-released their debut album to show what the band was like early on. Engineered by Steve Albini, and recorded in some unknown basement in Chicago, Speak Squeak Creak is a lost and found classic. While the band chose to experiment a little with electronics on their last outing, this introductory album is a good representation of the chaotic no wave/speed metal sound they are renowned for. YaKo and company rip through 24 songs so fast that it's hard to keep track of which tune is playing, and thank God the lyrics are printed because without them you'd misunderstand every word. "P-Pop-Slop" contains riffs only Slayer were known to use and "Switch" is completely maniacal, to say the least, with its constant guitar screeches that resemble police sirens. Speak Squeak Creak is everything you would want a Melt-Banana album to be: it's loud, abrasive, fast as hell and has the ability to make your head explode. Or at least your eardrums.