Okay so apparently there is such a genre as stoner punk/hardcore and apparently Lansdale’s L.M.I. play it. I hadn’t heard of the band until this past week but that’s completely on me, because it turns out that they’ve been around for about 10 years, have numerous solid releases under their belt and have toured with some big-name bands. L.M.I (which stand for Lazy Middle-Class Intellectuals in case you were wondering) just released their latest full length album Excess Subconscious on Handstand Records and Maniyax Records in June and boy is a banger.
This is a band that I can’t really pin a single source of influence on. They have such a unique sound and blend of styles that they are almost their own type of music, so I’m going to do my best here to break it down for you all. The band features punk/hardcore instrumentals, song structures, lengths and energy, but pairs that with stoner/sludge riffs and throws in plenty of groove. There’s also some thrash and death elements mixed in there, with some of the riffs and particularly the vocals.
So let’s break it down a little further, the shrieking style vocals are almost a mix of thrash and sludge, being harsh, angry and grating and delivered in a fast paced hardcore punk manner. Then the curve ball is thrown in when suddenly you begin hearing guttural death metal vocals splashed into the mix. Overall there’s plenty of vocal aggression, making for a fantastic listen.
Next let’s talk about the instrumentals. This album is riff central, honestly it’s fantastic. The blend of hardcore punk/thrash and stoner riffs here is something that I never even knew I needed in my life, but it turns out that I did. The drums are great, heavily punk influenced but also drawing thrash influences. Overall the instrumentals on this release are aggressive as all hell and when combined with vocals you get one very angry album. Pair this aggression with the lyrical themes presented, which discuss anxiety, paranoia and the subconscious and you’ve got something even more raw and emotive.
This release will have you banging your head so hard that you are at risk of either breaking your own neck or putting a hole in your wall. Don’t make my mistake and sleep on these guys because like me, you’ve been missing out. This band is everything you didn’t know that you needed, playing a style of music that you didn’t even know existed, let alone how much you loved it.
