Cryptic Slaughter
Money Talks

THE REVIEW

There was a moment in the mid-eighties when some bands from the hardcore scene began to break the barriers and limits of this genre, incorporating elements taken from thrash metal and disregarding everything in the name of speed. From this crossover melting pot, where metal and hardcore stood on the same level (the leaders were bands like Suicidal Tendencies, DRI, Corrosion of Conformity, etc.), emerged the Cryptic Slaughter from Santa Monica, CA. Money Talks is their second album from 1987.

Strengthened by an intense live activity, the band refines their aim here and releases this wild bullet that still hurts today and surpasses many extreme productions of today. An album that is a hand-to-hand assault, an adrenaline rush from start to finish. An album that makes me want to take my old skateboard and crash somewhere. A tight-knit band (same lineup as the first Convicted 1986), with all elements well-balanced, insane stop'n'go, solos that are razor-like, and overall a slightly more refined production. The young vocalist Bill Crooks spares no vocal cords when screaming slogans against the American system and its puppeteer Reagan.

If you're not clear on what I'm talking about, go listen to the title track or songs like "Wake Up" or "American Heroes". For the writer, the best album in their discography and one of the finest in mid-eighties Trashcore. Retrieve it along with the first one, you won't regret it.