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This is my second time listening to Wyld Stallyns, a Samuel Caldwell’s Revenge/In Bad Taste split. Clocking in at less than 17 minutes with only four tracks, Stallyns definitely leaves you wanting more. The explosive opening track “The Agents Of Intolerance” took me back to Mute Print-era A Wilhelm Scream, the intellect and instrumentals reminding me of “Anchor End”. I am honestly hooked on this song, mainly due to the catchy rhyme scheme in the verses. The vocabulary I am reading here is like Bad Religion minus the thick thesaurus.
Moving right along to “Teabagging America”, we slow down to catch our breaths. But 25 seconds in, and you are immediately thrust back into overdrive. I personally praise the guitars in this track. Their tones reflect the tone of the song. There is wailing on the strings as the lyrical content tells us about hypocrisy. This is the longest track on the split, at about five and a half minutes, but it does not seem long. The song hooks you from the get-go and will not allow you to escape until you are finally reeled in at the very end.
The split switches to In Bad Taste, giving us 40 seconds of softly distorted instrumentals and vocals before shifting gears and throwing us the full band. Gang vocals litter the song “Generations”, making you want to just jump up and pump your raised fists. “Generations” is a straight-up rocker, complete with technical guitar duets in the song’s interlude.
Then we get to the final song, “Apathy V Empathy”. You are immediately treated to a bouncing bass line that sounds very intriguing. Then the drums kick in and expect you to open up a circle pit and mosh your life away. Fast vocals and fast instrumentation make this a fun song, if you are into the whole skatepunk scene. About halfway into the song, there is a five second break that will bring you back to your senses, and then you are treated to a simple–yet catchy–guitar solo that takes you right back to the chorus. You get back into the song and…
It’s over. Like that. Not even a warning. So it’s time to put this split on repeat and just have fun again.
For a split, this was really well produced. The music itself gave me the feel of West Coast punk rock and East Coast technical hardcore. Not a bad mix. This split is definitely worth giving a listen to, and I want to hear more from both bands SOON.