Review Of The New 7" Album "Devil Of Mediocrity" From Punk Legends Gudon.
Band Name: Gudon
7” Title: Devil Of Mediocrity
Tracklist:
Side A.
Twin Tails
Stoic Violence
Side B.
Against Stupid Law
Shame On You!
Release Date:
Running Time: 9:00
Rating: 10/10
Label: SPHC
Version Reviewed: 7” Vinyl
Band Members:
Guy - Vocals
Tank - Bass
Taguchi - Guitar
Naoki - Guitar
Oumi - Drums
Jacket Artwork By Guy
Mastered And Engineered By Shintaro Ryoching
Oh man, the list of hardcore and punk bands I love is never-ending. I have and always have been a bigger fan of Metal, but Punk is right up there too. Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Circle Jerks, Minor Threat, Jerry’s Kids, Dicks (Not my band!), on and on. That said, I didn’t know as much about Punk as I did Metal, so a lot of bands passed me by. SPHC Records sent me the newest 7” from a band from Hiroshima, Japan called Gudon who has been playing this music since 1984! It seems they took a break and now are back pummeling the Japanese mainland and the rest of the world Godzilla-style! Read on and see what I thought of this 7”!
Holy shit, this 4-song and 9 minute little 7” is packed full of the most energetic Punk I’ve heard in a while. I need to check out their past releases, for sure! The sound here is like 75% 80’s styled Punk and 30” Thrash/Speed Metal. There’s definitely an 80’s Crossover sound permeating the music. I hear influences of old Punk, but also some Metal like S.O.D. and Nuclear Assault. I think both of those bands came after Gudon did though! The vocals rule and again are most Punk/Hardcore mixed with some Metal styled vocals here and there. The lyrics are typical Punk fare and touch on things like politics, war, politics and things of that ilk. It’s kind of sad that these kinds of lyrics are just as relevant today as they were in the past. Humans! Pfft! The one thing that gives “Devil of Mediocrity” a more modern sound is its awesome production. They managed to give a Punk album a superb sound while not making it sound too overproduced or clinical. The musicianship on display here is top shelf. Fast guitars with chaotic solos, maniacal drumming and absolutely amazing bass lines are found throughout.
Whether you are into Punk or Metal, “Devil of Mediocrity” needs to be in your collection. It’s pure musical brilliance played by a group of very talented people. I can't recommend this one more! If you want it, you better hurry though as it is limited to a run of just 500 copies.
The artwork was done by vocalist Guy and is hand drawn in black and white and depicts a plethora of pure Punk ideologies and symbolism. It’s a total throwback to the 80’s and I love it. There is an insert that has all of the lyrics, more artwork and band and album information too. The vinyl is on red vinyl, a cool deep red too. The jacket is made of a thicker cardboard than most 7” albums I see and as such it feels good in your hands and gives you comfort knowing if taken care of it’ll last a while!
As always, I like to ask my readers to support the bands, labels and artists by purchasing the physical copies of the albums they love or by visiting their Bandcamp pages and supporting them there.
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