Scratch Acid
Berserker

In Australia during the 1980s, there was a boom of theatrical noise from the Birthday Party, where a roaring Nick Cave was supported by vigorous blues bass lines. This latter element played a fundamental role since the late 1970s: English post-punk held the forefront at first. England was awash with industrial, Joy Division-like sounds, and funk mixed with new wave, like Gang Of Four. In America, the response was rage. With hardcore. Black Flag, Minor Threat, Butthole Surfers, and Husker Du are the bands that raised their voices and imposed themselves forcefully. Saturated guitar, whipped hi-hat, and wrath in the lyrics are the stylistic themes of this school. A prolific scene lasting into the early 1990s, as evidenced by Fugazi or the forgotten Squirrel Bait and the titanic Bitch Magnet.

In Austin, around 1984, the four Texas lads from Scratch Acid launched a blues hurled into the delirious psychic raids of singer Yow. The sound is reckless and occasionally tribal, a kind of voodoo electrified by David's spasms, who proclaims his torments. The debut is explosive, with neurotic delusions clashing against us with "Cannibal" and "The Greatest Gift," where the Birthday Party pattern is indeed revisited. Yow is even more vulgar than Cave, the rhythm is far more overpowering than the Cramps, and it feels like entering a sort of horror movie. The element I find in them, unlike other bands, is a dark humor, something "dark" that darkens everything and slightly sidesteps the frantic punk component.

In 1985 with "Just Keep Eating," there’s another jolt with "Crazy Dan" and their career concludes in 1987 with the raucous "Berserker." Five tracks and fifteen minutes are like a bullet to the stomach. The pieces don't exceed three minutes, and the impact is explosive, as foreshadowed by the anthem "Mary Had A Little Drug Problem." The nightmare of the metropolis combines with the frightening Texan desolation. The subsequent "For Crying Out Loud" and "Moron's Moron" are fiery, and only the most "metallic" Albini can achieve such a sound triviality.

"Skin Drips" returns a moment of calm, letting us witness the usual delirium sweetened, however, by blues. With "This Is Bliss," we approach the end of the album and enter just as much into the future. The Jesus Lizard. Oh yes, this crazy David Yow is the singer of the Jesus, for those not too familiar with names and surnames. With "Berserker," Scratch Acid brings this impressive yet brief career to an end. David will have only fortune and glory with various "Pure" and "Goat," while the other members will join Albini in Rapeman, writing another piece of history with "Two Nuns And A Pack Mule" and "Budd."

Let’s make the eternal silence of the mind scream.