by Tim Buck (@aidmoozic)
When seeing the 'hardcore' label slapped onto a band you've never heard, you might already have an idea of how the instruments will sound, but the vocalist can remain somewhat of a mystery. Vocals need to hold their own against both overdriven guitar played at frantic speed and a tumultuous drummer. If the vocalist is below par, they can turn the listener away from a few potentially great musicians behind them. What you really want is a frontman like Konrad Fetterolf from Missouri hardcore outfit Total Sham to shriek his message forcefully through the chaos and right into your face... or at least, into your earphones.
The four members of Total Sham started playing together in the early spring of 2021, under the name "DYE." Two tapes were released before the name change in 2022. Two years and a few more self-released titles later, and they've dropped their self-titled label debut on Under the Gun Records. It's antagonistic in the extreme; with the kind of hostility you'd expect from an exasperated python, darting around violently with no care for its surroundings. In much the same vein as their hardcore predecessors Minor Threat, the band runs on maximum amplitude throughout all thirteen tracks. Even the more riff-based segments are just as fractured as every other moment on this relentless, seventeen minute excursion. In typical hardcore manner, tracks come to a halt barely touching the minute mark, like they couldn’t be bothered to finish due to fear of repeating themselves.
The album's crass production work is yet another gesture of insubordination. Rather than compress their sound even a little bit, they do the exact opposite; everything is completely blown-out and dialed all the way up. A treble-soaked guitar plays a straightforward mix of barre chords and robust riffs that Konrad yells and sneers over as he pleases, with the chaos emphasising some choice lyrics that cut through. "Lost in the transaction of life and death; one seems more worthwhile until you know it in the end", Konrad bawls in "Mind Over Matter," a moment that conveys the essence of the album; paranoia, catharsis and confrontation. His voice strains and breaks so overtly unabashed, it can only be admired.
"Murder on My Mind" starts with a "1, 2 fuck you!" - presumably an explicit form of "1 2 X U". You can feel the dialect of Minor Threat coming through - and even before them - Wire. The decision to fade-out the end of the track works surprisingly well, all things considered. Perhaps the album's biggest gambit is that while it clearly stems from hardcore legends like Minor Threat and Dead Kennedys, it doesn't come across as mere replication. It actually takes things a step further, pushing the intensity up another notch and setting forth a marque of tight, yet brutish contemporary hardcore.