Written by Johnny Papan
ALBUM REVIEW | BANDCAMP
If you’re looking for the musical equivalent of a nail-spiked baseball bat to the face, ATD’s self-titled debut you will leave you satisfied. Everything from thrash-infused riffs to the machine gun drums to the walloping vocals, the record is as hypnotic as it is chaotic. A Total Disappointment is a lightening quick album that moves 10x faster than you can think.
The opening track “Slipt” pops off like a confetti-filled hand-grenade. Every single song on this album follows suit. A Total Disappointment is the definition of a non-stop record. No slow songs, no breaks, no filler.
“Moonlight Clan” is the longest track on the album, clocking in at 2:19. The shortest track? “Teenage Vanities” is only 16 seconds. But don’t let that skew your perception, that track is one of the record’s heaviest smashers. Consider it the Vancouver-punk equivalent to Napalm Death’s “You Suffer”.
The band consists of guitarists Joe Gieni and Morgan Farrell, bassist Dave Derksen, vocalist Ben VonDubya and drummer Marco Bieri, also known as a member of the polka-punk band, The Dreadnoughts. Together, the group mixes elements of various punk subgenres into one intense, combustible package.
Overall, ATD may not disappoint you like their album name suggests… but they will almost certainly fuck you up.