THE REACTION
Track Listing:
| Horror On Highway 95 | ||
| Army Of The Dead | ||
| MP3 | Revenge & Murder | |
| They Won't Hear You Screaming | ||
| Hassle Another Trucker | ||
| Long Haul | ||
| Let Sleeping Corpses Lie | ||
| Four On The Floor | ||
| Get What's Yours | ||
| Suicide Girls | ||
| MP3 | Shut Your Face And Go |
Reviews:
| ARTCORE #18 (WALES) |
| This is so perfect for Acme; it sounds like Out Cold playing friggin' Ramones, Lillingtons or early Screeching Weasel songs. They've already renamed themselves due to relocation and member changes to The Stivs, but from the outset of the killer anthems Horror On Highway 95 and Army Of The Dead they seem to also have something of that primal Cramps influence somewhere deep down. Mix in a hefty slice of Zeke and Motörhead with a little of that Dead Boys snot vocally in places, and you're exhuming the right corpse. This is excellent, loud and heavy, pummelling shit that you'll keep going back to. And unlike 99% of the other bands playing this leather-jacket garage punk, this buncha hoodlums have enough songwriting spark coupled with brute force to make them stand out above and beyond all that trendy shit you're currently peeing yer pants over. Another crackin' Acme record that's highly recommended, and I'd wager it's probably the best garage punk release since Destroy Oh Boy by the New Bomb Turks... "I'm the horror on highway 95, Evil Kineivel and the devil combined. |
| NOW WAVE MAGAZINE |
| This is their first release and if it's any indication, they have one hell of a bright future ahead of them. The eleven songs that make up this release are aggressive blasts of horror fueled rock n' fucking roll! Bringing to mind the best moments of "Kicked In The Teeth"-era Zeke and the tongue in cheek evil vibe of Danzig-era Misfits. The overall formula is pretty damn simple: play fast, play loud, play tight! The vocals switch seamlessly from a bleeding throat scream to a whiskey drenched croon while breaking through the steady, solid back beat and Ramonesesque guitars are occasional blazing metal style leads threatening to blow out your speakers! Trust me. If you know anything about REAL rock n' roll, this will knock you on your ass! |
| KAINUUN SANOMAT (FINLAND) |
| The band operates in the US and includes ex-members from Huntingtons and Deadlines. The Reactions plays melodic punk, which is very recognizing to their nationality. Band's self-titled record got no useless meanders, it's smashing straight forward without crooks or wish-washes. Songs are burst of energy which cause good feeling. Even you can notice pure anger only at times in aptly snotty vocals, you can describe band's style hardcore only in exceptions. The most angry stuff in the record is record-ending HC-crumple Shut Your Face And Go. There's no doubt from influences: boys have listened their Misfits' and from time to time you can feel even Ramones-melodies. The Reaction seems to know what they want and band's playing got rock-attitude right in it's place. Decent punk-record. |
| TOILET PAPER #6 (GERMANY) |
| It sure has the expected Ramones/Groovie Ghoulies hooks but something not easy to pinpoint makes this stand out. Roach wouldn't play her riffs that hard. I can't define what is so grabbing and extraordinary about this but I witness, the special ingredient exists. Fans of decent punk 'n' roll will appreciate this. |
| SHREDDING PAPER #15 |
| Meaty punk rock outta Oregon (by way of Delaware), this kick ass band is now called The Stivs. This great sounding record combines the speed and feel of Zeke with the big sound and melodic tendencies of the last few Dwarves records. Features ex-Huntingtons and Deadlines members, these guys are a band to watch out for. I can't wait to see them play live. Any band that ends a tune called 'Shut Your Face And Go' with the line 'Pot-smoking warlock!' is a-okay with me! |
| PANIK #3 (DENMARK) |
| Alright, so I know I was asking out for some more deathrock bands back in #1, and what do you know, the next thing that happens is that I recieve a copy of the stone cold, ex-Deadlines unit, the Reaction! This is rocking punk, deathrock in the vein of the Ramones, Misfits and maybe Zeke. There is a lot of good and catchy tunes that I believe most people would be able to rock along to, but my ultimate favorite has to be 'Suicide Girls'. As you probably have guessed, the songs are about all sorts of ghoulish themes. Titles include 'Horror On Highway 95', 'Army Of The Dead', 'They Won't Hear You Screaming', and 'Shut Your Face And Go'. I believe the band has changed their name to the Stivs by now, but I'm not entirely sure what is going on. |
| MASS MOVEMENT #13 (WALES) |
| Oh brother, where have you been hiding The Reaction? Breakneck punk-n-roll that throws The Ramones, The Dwarves, The Angry Samoans, The Misfits and Elvis Hitler into the mixer. Just right, and exactly what you need to relax (both musically and lyrically -- thematically, it covers everything from horror to murder to death and back again) after a hard day diggin' graves and making plans to conquer the world by any means necessary. MM salutes you oh evil ones!! |
| PLASTIC BOMB #41 (GERMANY) |
| In the American province, or to be more specific: deep down in Delaware 4 punkrockers try hard to do it like their idols e.g. the Dead Boys. Their sound is strongly influenced by 77 punk rock, more English than American and the modern production makes it pretty cool. It sounds pretty unique and it´s pretty fast but nevertheless with a lot of melodies. They remind me a lot of a Swiss band called Poison Ivy. Ralf Real Shock of 3rd Generation Nation would love it. This is a real good record with no misses. |
| RAZORCAKE #11 |
| Spooky rock 'n' roll bubblegum. In other words, a punchy mix of Motörhead (for the gasoline in the gum), Zeke (for the grit in the gum), and the Beach Boys (for the pop in the gum) by way of the Misfits (the packaging of the gum and the mental pictures). It's kinda bwoo-ha-ha but it's way too hooky and tuneful to say it's a direct rip off of any of the aforementioned bands. I like it. It speeds by fast and I usually let it play a couple times. |
| THE NOISE #225 |
| With a look and sound straight out of the piss-stained mirros in the dank dungeon toilet of CBGB's circa 1978, the Stivs come hell bent for leather. This CD is worth it for the photo insert: (from left to right) the Alfalfa-looking guy with all the pins, the Moe Tucker guy with emo glasses, Mr. Ducktail Haircut, and Frankenstein. I don't feel bad teasing these guys as they apparently have gone through a lineup and name change yet still saw fit to release this record (as The Reaction). The Stivs blow my face off with no fluff old school punk rock, sometimes with as many as 5 chords. Either everybody sings or this is a compilation CD of unreleased Damned songs. If only the studio didn't clean the dirt from under the fingernails of the recording, it could be more Dictators and less One Man Army. This CD could benefit from a crustier production--the songs rock enough to warrant a little surface distortion. Otherwise skip directly to track 9, "Get What's Yours," and please watch your step in the circle pit. |
| TEENPOINTS.ORG |
| ...Their sound combines influences from Zeke, The Ramones, and most definitely The Misfits. They are from Oregon and are touring the West Coast very soon. If you get a chance then go out and see them and support them. They rock. Some of the stand out songs this album are Horror On Highway 95, Army Of The Dead, They Won't Hear You Screaming, Hassle Another Trucker and my personal favorite, Revenge And Murder. This is great punk rock and roll in the vein of The Misfits great horror punk. I highly, highly reccomend this CD to any fan of The Misfits. Don't go looking for an exact re-incarnation of The Misfits here, but The Stivs are like Danzig's Misfits reborn in 2002, with the aforementioned influences from Zeke and The Ramones. This is great stuff and I can't wait for The Stivs to come out to Arizona. Even if you haven't heard The Misfits or even don't like The Misfits (how could you not?) still check these guys out. And like I said, if you're a Misfits fan you owe it to yourself to check out The Stivs. You won't regret it. |
| PASTEPUNK.COM |
| I'm pretty sure this band is now called The Stivs, but since this cd says The Reaction, that's what it's getting reviewed under. This disc actually is a breeze to review, as there's 11 songs, only a few of which reach two minutes, and each tune is a blazingly fast take on the old-school punk rock sound. Part Ramones, part Screeching Weasel, part Queers, and a whole lotta leather. A darkness pervades most the tunes, either alluding to death, or directly speaking thereof, including such song title classics as "Revenge & Murder," "Let Sleeping Corpses Lie," "Suicide Girls," and the dicey, "Shut Your Face and Go." Lovely. Now that I think about it, The Reaction are a good deal grittier than any of the aforementioned pop-punk bands minus some of the earlier SW material. Gumption -- that's a word that's not used to often in reviews...but I suppose it works here. Anyway, if you need something to match that spiked haircut, leather jacket, studded belt, pair of boots, and overall "bad attitude," here's your adjustment, sucka! |
Pressing history:
| FORMAT | PRESSING | DATE | QUANTITY | DISTINGUISHING CHARACTERISTIC |
| CD | 1 | August 2002 | 1000 |