I don't necessarily feel like CAUSTIC CHRIST flies under the radar of punk remembrance, but I definitely feel like they shirk the recognition that they justly deserve...even more in hindsight than at the time. AUS ROTTEN, SUBMACHINE and BEHIND ENEMY LINES members combined forces to create a wholly predictable juggernaut, and perhaps no one talked about it because no one was really surprised. Like, you knew CAUSTIC CHRIST was going to be amazing, so when you saw CAUSTIC CHRIST and they were, in fact, amazing, the response was more "duh" than "holy shit." But listen to this shit 15 years later - all of the power and low end of turn of the millennium USHC crammed mercilessly into the '80s hardcore punk construct. At times it doesn't even work - like there's too much energy in play for them to still be going that hard, but they are definitely going that hard. This cassette from Rabid Dogs came shortly after they released the Dark Thoughts comp (a C.O.C. tribute with HOLIER THAN THOU?, MUNICIPAL WASTE, WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? and CAUSTIC CHRIST), and compiles the Can't Relate 12", splits with R.A.M.B.O. and INTENSE YOUTH, the self titled EP on Havoc and a ripping nine track demo that I have never seen in the flesh. This shit is so much more intense in retrospect, and the live shows were something else entirely...I miss this hardcore, but fortunately (thanks to Felix and antiquated 1990s pressing ethos) these slabs are readily available and affordable for current and future punk generations.
Above show was from 2002, one of my favorites on that tour, KYLESA didn't actually play, they stayed in Georgia after burning through two vans in the first three days, but it meant we had a lot of really killer flyers when we got home from tour.
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