Destroy All Gondolas – Laguna Di Satana LP (Various Labels)

It’s time for more underground goodies from a recent batch of Shyrec records. This particular record is a collaborative effort between several record labels, such as the beforementioned Shyrec, Macina Dischi, Sonatine Produzioni, Deathcrush Distro, and Crampi Rec. Laguna Di Satana is a debut full-length release by Destroy All Gondolas, an Italian garage rock-driven hardcore punk band. This debut comes on a hefty white vinyl housed in a beautiful screen-printed gatefold. It’s also good to mention that there are two versions of Laguna Di Satana. A black gatefold with a white screen-printed illustration is limited to 250 copies, while a white gatefold with a black screenprinted artwork is limited to 300 copies. There is also a cassette edition released the same year, so you should check it out too if you’re into collecting tapes.

Destroy All Gondolas will be right up your alley if you’re into fast, dirty, chaotic, reverby music. They nurture such an incredible sound that’s difficult to define. Perhaps the sixties garage rock, fifties surf rock, and rock ‘n’ roll come to mind first, but Destroy All Gondolas are more than just another plain rock band. Quite the contrary, there are many genres involved along the way. You’ll notice how hardcore punk, d-beat, and doom rock inspired these folks to write, compose, and record such an excellent full-length album that bursts with ten jaw-dropping compositions. I know there are many bands on the underground scene, who combine classic hardcore punk with garage rock, but Destroy All Gondolas are on an entirely new level. They’re not yet another same old band that uses predictable movements. Quite the opposite, their music carries many impressive sonic maneuvers worth repeating over and over again.

Every composition carries an unpredictable ambiance. You’ll stumble upon aggressive hardcore punk or punk rock tracks, but the Destroy All Gondolas unquestionably dedicated a luxurious portion of this album to garage, surf, and rock ‘n’ roll. Each song has some of the best guitar licks, solos, leads, themes, chord progressions, and riffs you’ll hear on the underground music scene. Of course, nothing would sound this impressive without equally hearable low-end tones and intense drumming sequences built upon well-accentuated beats, breaks, drum fills, improvisations, and other percussive acrobatics. The lead vocal performance flawlessly matches the orchestrations, so the entire Laguna Di Satana sounds top-notch from scratch to finish. It’s nice how they switch between all the beforementioned styles, but Destroy All Gondolas shine the brightest during their surf rock moments. These guys know how to rock ‘n’ roll, and you should check them out as soon as possible. Heat to Shyrec for more information about ordering.