There has been a well-documented track record of wrestlers releasing music – Hulk Hogan, Stone Cold Steve Austin and John Cena are just a select few who have taken a turn behind the mic. But now it is the turn of Ultramantis Black as he teams up with hardcore punk outfit Pissed Jeans.
History lesson: Ultramantis Black may not be a name that is immediately recognisable unless you are particularly clued up on the wrestling scene. He has been a part of the Chikara wrestling circle since it formed back in 2002 and has become it’s most notorious member with his ever-present mantis mask. He added the ‘Black’ to his name in 2006 when he started to spout communist views, so it only seems fitting that his political focuses should manifest themselves in this new hardcore punk project.
He’s certainly been hard at work reading the genre’s ‘How To’ guide, as this eponymous debut album is a highly typical example of an early 80s hardcore punk record. A collection of nine shotgun blasts of pure unadulterated cacophonous mayhem, wrapped up in a shade over 13 minutes.
It may be fair to say that it’s Pissed Jeans who really deserve the plaudits on this album despite never receiving an ostensible mention. Their brand of militant hardcore punk is played with blistering ferocity and clinical precision, the impressive instrumentation really carrying this album up to and over the finish line. Meanwhile, Ultramantis Black’s vocals are characteristically indistinguishable and ultimately fall by the wayside.
‘Biomedical DNA‘ kicks the album off with the switches in tempo demonstrating how tight this band really is, the slower portions smashing like Mjolnir, while the faster sections run like a wood-chipper, obliterating everything in its path. ‘Oil and Gas‘ and ‘Stockpiling Graves‘ go off like a pair of Kalashnikov’s cutting down all in their paths.
‘Gloom of Prosperity‘, at 3 minutes and 2 seconds, is by far and away the longest track on the album and arguably the most impressive. Starting out as a brooding bruiser of a song, it periodically breaks down into a screaming amalgamation of the heaviest elements they could muster. Quivering guitar feedback and galloping bass lines run rampant amid a field of punishing blast beats and unhinged vocal input to close the album out before you even know it.
Overall, it’s a mildly fun little blast of hardcore punk, but you can’t help but feel that this should remain a side-project while Ultramantis Black continues to dominate his wrestling federation. Meanwhile, Pissed Jeans need to continue their ascension through the iconic Sub Pop Records, because if their turn here is anything to go by, the sky really could be the limit for them.
