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Rating: I have often encountered the evil of living
Heroin Man is the undisputed masterpiece of the Texans Cherubs. An unrelenting sonic assault, an album that reeks of inevitable decay, existential suffering, repressed traumas erupting into horrid neuroses. Just listen to the opener Stag Party: a pyroclastic eruption on the brink of pure noise where occasionally a plot can be distinguished, desperate screams emerge. A kick in the balls, a chocolate with worms, a pig shit stepped on with shoes endorsed by Winona Ryder.
The real show begins with the fifth track Dave of the Moon, dedicated to the band's heroin addict friend Dave DeLuna (indeed), who died of an overdose: it proceeds quietly until exploding in the chorus and the end, tearing the heart to pieces. Stuff worthy of Black Flag's B-side. Follows Coonass, catchy and infernal at the same time, with that savage cry of someone about to drown, who has lost all hope, all will to fight. And among torrential flows of abrasive, suffocating guitars and the drums hammering on the skull, there's room for a terrifying song like Playdough as well. One of the most memorable albums of '94, an essential work of noise rock.
A junkie drowned in the tub of a filthy, squalid toilet. That cover sings.
Until next time.
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