Total Fucking Destruction

Conceived by vocalist/drummer Rich Hoak after Brutal Truth went on an indefinite hiatus in 1999, despite offering around 12 splits, a couple of compilations and a few full-lengths, Total Fucking Destruction are still a bit of a mystery. After walking through the crowd during a recent show and wondering why they had a woman onstage whose only purpose seemed to be to shriek (check out "Love Grinder"), the causal listener has to ask: are they a joke band or are they serious? Hater consists of 27 tracks, ranging from 23 seconds ("Murdernumber") to a whopping three minutes and nine seconds ("I Not Pose"). Joke or not, one thing that's evident is that Hoak is a beast. Sticking to primarily kick and snare drums, his finesse as a grindcore master is evident, and the album is musically versatile, as he adds some classic rock riffs and even a bit of groove to "Time Theft." The 27 tracks go fast, and you will have to listen carefully to pull the gems out of the head-scratchingly bad, but it is worth it.