XFilesX

With 22 songs in 15 minutes, you gotta bear in mind this could have fit on a seven-inch (ok, minus one song or so), so don’t be forking over too much dough for Excruciation. But for cheap, this is one hell of a ride; dishing out rabid 30-second hardcore song after rabid 35-second hardcore song, these guys never let up the intensity levels once on this EP. The songs are placed together in such a way that the listener gets virtually no time to breathe before the next pissed off and punked out tune begins. Musically, it’s simplistic as hell old school hardcore, bringing to mind earlier D.R.I. in its wonderful, basic, tunnel vision. But lyrically is where the band shines, opting for a wonderfully bitter sense of humour to carry forth the messages of hate (they hate work, people who smoke in their personal space, you, etc.). At times the relentless repetition can grate, but this ain’t about breaking new ground in any way, it’s about turning it up loud and lettin’ the aggression fly, which Xfiles (bad name) do with perfection. But predictably, after two listens, the shelf life decreases dramatically.