God Awfuls Next Stop Armageddon CD

L.A.'s God Awfuls clash the rancid with the raucous on their energizing Kung Fu debut, opting for a faithful facsimile of punk rock's barbed and faded past instead of resorting to the posing homogeny of its mainstream present. That said, they do understand the Warped Tour nation's clamor for a hook. Mouthpiece Kevin De Franco delivers his rants against consumerism, the National Rifle Association, organized religion, and being generally F'd over by society and the Man in an amplified impersonation of Tim Reynolds, who was already impersonating John Lydon and Joe Strummer. You get the idea: the God Awfuls brazenly acknowledge the punk practitioners of the past in every pick slide, power chord, and strained vocal chord of Next Stop Armageddon. Acknowledgement given, they dutifully reinvent the sting, and faithfully resubmit the vitriol. "Disconnected Youth," "East Side One," the subtle "N.R.A." -- the string section cheeze and preposterous poor baby power ballads of the modern mall-punk school are gored by rousing guitar solos, spit-flying and entirely believable potty mouth, and an overwhelming desire to play fast and get to the next fiery salvo. (Appropriately, the Greedy Bros. production leaves no breathing space between the screeds.) "Tonight" is the requisite Social Distortion hard-drinking anthem; "No Angels" updates the fightin' in the streets manifestos of 1977, relocating the front lines to the vapid streets of Southern Cali; and the Oi! roil of "Orion" takes posing Neo-Nazis to task. There's even a couple of nods to vintage hardcore, the best being the absolutely badass "Sister" ("You're a f*ckin' mess/F*ck you and your trust"), which is the God Awfuls' version of that simpering broken romance crap the more pop than punk establishment tries to sell the kids these days. Next Stop Armageddon should come with a half-empty can of Carling. ~ Johnny Loftus

The God Awfuls emerged out of a rather desolate and/or uncultured section of Los Angeles, where a large part of growing up means having to impress your peers who have yet to leave an impression themselves. Not much out there to expose yourself to unless your idea of culture is getting loaded, getting laid, and getting lost in a sea of redundancy. The cycle is about to be broken.Floating around between high school bands, singer/guitarist Kevin De Franco and bassist Kyle Lumsden eventually crossed paths and formed the base of The God Awfuls, with guitarist Chris La Fave and drummer John Skelly eventually completing the package. Writing songs overflowing with message and meaning and playing shows anytime and anyplace propelled them into more than being just a local band with stage time. Citing influences such as The Clash, Cockney Rejects and Rancid, The God Awfuls create the perfect blend of punk rock. Mixing old-school 70's-era UK punk with west coast 80's hardcore punk and even early-90's alterna-punk, The God Awfuls boast a unique brand that will appeal to all sub-genres of punk, from the studs-'n'-hawks crowd to the bro-hymn-skater crowd. The songs are not only catchy, but the lyrics have such passion in them that you can't help but at least notice what's being said. Add the fact that punk rock has become littered with bands that come off as whiners and criers, and The God Awfuls serve as the antidote: a much-needed session of tough love, followed up with a well-deserved kick in the ass.Their debut album Next Stop, Armageddon shows their raw, unfiltered passion used to teach the kids about this thing called punk rock. Produced by The Greedy Bros. (a.k.a. Blag Dahlia, the infamous singer of The Dwarves, and engineering partner-in-crime Brad Cook), Next Stop, Armageddon will stand out amongst the punk crowd as an album that has meaning and purpose while not stooping to lowest common denominator known as appealing to the generic masses.Quality counts at Kung Fu Records, and The God Awfuls are no exception to that rule. Bands like Social Distortion, Buzzcocks, The Vandals, S