Lethal Means – Zero Sum Game (Recommendation)

Since I stumbled across the current long player from Lethal Means, I can’t get away from it and just can’t stop listening to it at full volume. I am sure that the eight songs Zero Sum Game contains can’t be fully enjoyed in any other way and force the listener to turn up the sound system on maximum. Those who like fast raging USHC and good old vibes of Anti Cimex styled Scandinavian D-Beat will get their money’s worth with this record and, like me, won’t want to get away from it anymore. If you are in a really bad mood after having a shitty day again, you should definitely take the time to deal with this crusher. But be careful, because this anger is not easy to digest for everyone.

It is almost impossible to put into words how aggressive and violent the sound of Lethal Means is. Actually, you just have to listen to this record and enjoy it. Nevertheless, there are several things that can be mentioned to give a certain foretaste on Zero Sum Game and thus awaken the anticipation. First of all there are the great guitar riffs, which sound not only extremely versatile but above all incredibly brutal. In addition to deep distorted guitars in different tempos, especially the melodic inserts stick, which are very catchy with their shrill sounds and overlap excellently with the other, ill-tempered sawing.

Furthermore, the drums here slam away everything that has not been screwed in the foundation. Be it with intense D-beat, furious swirls or just its high-speed pounding. The drumming sounds like you could find it in the dictionary under the description of the word “hard” and be more than okay with it. Besides the killer melodies and stomping Metalpunk passages, this certainly is the biggest parallel to old Scandinavian Punk, while the comparison with USHC ratherworks with the demolition parts bordering on frenzy stir. The vocals, however, are in no way inferior to the instruments and push raging deep roars out of the boxes, which is always decorated with matching backing vocals and sounds no less raving than the musical storm itself. Lethal Means play Punk as it is written in the book and should be played like all the time, but as it is not so often found these days. Ruthlessly frustrated, 100% pissed off and with just the right amount of flourishes to bring everything across authentically and let the hatred spill over onto the listener.

Since December 19th, Zero Sum Game is available via Not For The Weak Records, where you can help yourself to two different vinyl variants. To this release, you can’t do anything but stomp the ground half a meter deeper into the earth and inhale the dirt stirred up in the process full of joy. The sound of the album pulls out all registers, offers tons of great melodies and burns itself mercilessly into the brain. Everyone who calls himself a fan of angry Hardcore Punk must have heard Zero Sum Game, that’s for sure, because rarely has the combination of furious USHC and nasty raw Swedish D-Beat ignited so much as it is the case on these eight choleric killer anthems of Lethal Means!

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