Degenerate sex rockers Shitfucker deliver their second full length after 2013’s Suck Cocks In Hell. They sport an appearance and aesthetic that resembles the New York Dolls if they were extras in the sleazy William Friedkin flick Cruising. True to this perverted and ugly facade, the Detroit trio play a style that would easily entertain those who happily digest anything that fits the “black thrash”, “black ‘n’ roll” or “black crust” milieu.
This is an area that has enjoyed a particular niche of popularity that corresponds with the increasingly punk influenced direction that Darkthrone took since the mid noughties. Emerging at the same time that the Norwegians took a more purposely “retro” turn, Shitfucker can be compared to fellow US outfit Midnight.
Often, I find very little depth in a lot of music that sounds like this, as it’s usually little more than a regurgitation of something that was already laid out by Motorhead and Venom, but lacking any real spark or inspiration. Shitfucker however manage to take something that’s derivative and use individual influences to make a good mark. There are marked changes since their debut full length Suck Cocks In Hell that develop from where they left off.
The musical influences on Sex With Dead Body are pretty much the same as they always have been, and their macabre, slimy, camp preoccupation with death, sex, torture and murder is true to form. The production is still primitive and raw, but individually each of the instruments have more a more sharp tonal clarity, all separate from each other in the mix. Amidst what is still a scuzzy yet more direct sound is a big emphasis on distortion and fuzz pedals with the guitars.
The change in production makes the songs stand out more clearly. Songs are rendered catchier as a result, as if Nunslaughter channeled KISS and the more “bubblegum” elements of GG Allin’s earlier career. The sense of technique is very much inspired by GISM, and the guitar technique and lead playing can be compared to Randy Uchida. Additionally the tonal progression between Suck Cocks In Hell is and Sex With Dead Body not unlike the jump in clarity made by the Japanese legends from Detestation to M.A.N.
The album is catchy for the most part, held together by an intro and outro titled “Naked Came The Strangler”, a blatant ode to the horror synth scores of John Carpenter and Dario Argento’s films. Songs such as “Rickys Dead” and “Serial Killer” are the highlights, and the most energetic tracks, whilst the likes of “Stab The Head” and “Skitzoid” are more straightforward and aggressive. “Leather Lady Lover” has the amusing honor of at times sounding like the result of Paul Stanley trying to sing GG Allin’s “Bite It You Scum”. In a thoroughly satisfying yet distasteful sophomore full-length, Shitfucker are catchier, have more clarity, but are still nonetheless unclean.
Excuse The Blood 