Disturbingly lo-fi, fucked up, 80’s-inspired hardcore-punk from Connecticut. DEFORMED SKULL is the kind of band that could be used as a barometer to tell just how into hardcore-punk someone truly is. This is the second self-titled cassette released by DEFORMED SKULL, and is thankfully also known as The Jailbreak Demos which is helpful for differentiating the two. This second demo sounds much more raw and brings us a seven track non-stop audio assault. Closing out a hardcore-punk demo with back to back slow/mid-tempo dirges, each pushing the 4 minute mark is certainly a bold choice, but when you hear how ear-piercing the guitar squeals are on “Shards” it starts to feel like it may have been the right move. Let’s talk about that first track tho, “Bacteria Brain”! Holy hell, what an unbelievable stomper! Revved up, distorted, yet still wildly catchy and memorable. An absolutely timeless hardcore-punk hit! If ‘Bacteria Brain’ were a one-sided 45 it would absolutely be worth the cost of the 7”, even at current modern through-the-roof tariff prices.

Label: self-released

Band: DEFORMED SKULL