Reviewed by:
postmortem2006, on november 09, 2007
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Sound: So during the release of Vio-lence's second record "Oppressing The Masses", the label took one of the songs off the record at the last minute, that song was Torture tactics, and looking at the name you could understand why they were upset about it. Naturally angry about this, Vio-lence released the Torture Tactics EP, a four song record with outtakes from the "Oppressing the Masses" sessions. Track one is the title track, and it's a mean one. No slow/clean intro or build up here, it just throws you headfirst into a pit of hungry riffs and fast paced shreddery, and some rather vicious lyrics to boot. Next up is a 'live' rendition of Officer Nice off "Oppressing the Masses," it's actually a fake live track, but that doesn't mean it sucks! Still sounds just as good as the album version does if you ask me. next up is one of the first songs the band ever wrote, a little ditty called Gutterslut (now you see why their label wasn't happy with them). This is actually the third recording of this song, as they recorded a demo in '86, they recorded it for the "Eternal Nightmare" album but it got binned, and now they've released the rerecorded rendition. This song is, in my opinion, the best song on this EP, hilarious lyrics, fantastic riff, great solos and some awesome vocal work from Sean Killian as always. Then things get really stupid for the last track, entitled, wait for it, Dicks of Death. yes, Dicks of Death. I have a feeling this song was recorded when they were all wasted off their faces because this song is absolutely ridiculous, good, but ridiculous. The lyrics are incredibly funny though. And the guitar tone on this album is the same as that on "Oppressing the Masses," crushing, seeing as these songs were all recorded during those sessions. // 8
Lyrics and Singing: Well I'm going to boycott the 'live' performance of Officer Nice because that's been covered in my review for "Oppressing the Masses". If you can't even guess what the title track is about, then you need your ehad checked, it's all about the torture. And admittedly, some of the lyrics contained in this song are enough to make you cringe; "C clamp yours head, pressure force fed" and so on. Well written by all means, just a little unnerving and controversial. Gutterslut is (to quote Sean Killian himself) 'about your girlfriend, your wife and your mother'. This song has some very funny lyrics that are still well constructed; 'Awakened rudely in my bed, the bitch just slapped me upside the head', 'I'll have to tie a board to my ass, or lose my life in your unforgiving crack' and so on. It certainly shows a much more humorous side of Sean Killian. But then ladies and gentlemen, we have Dicks of Death, which is exactly what the title implies. This song is absolutely crazy and incredibly funny, but it kind of wears thin after a short while due to there being only two riffs in the entire song, but it's a welcome addition to the EP. Maybe a little excess in the humor department though. // 8
Impression: This is a good EP, but half of it in completely uneccessary, Dicks of Death, whilst funny, doesn't really sound like Vio-lence at all and there was zero point in putting on a fake live track. Maybe if they'd put on a demo or two, or maybe even put on the infamous Paraplegic, then it would've really been worth the money. As it stands, it's an alright EP but it could've had so much more on it. A slight disappointment. "Torture Tactics" was reissued as a 2-in-1 set with "Oppressing The Masses" in 2003. // 6
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![Torture Tactics [EP]](/reviews/images/10_18445_18449.jpg)
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