Drugs of Faith – S/T / 2006Selfmadegod / 8 Tracks / http://www.drugsoffaith.com / http://www.selfmadegod.com / Reviewed 02 November 2006

If I remember right, Drugs of Faith is the first non-grindcore act that I’ve heard on Selfmadegod. This does not mean that Drugs of Faith is weak in the slightest, but just that the style of music that they play is a brand of punk meets metal that has few in the way of other bands playing this style. Even on the disc’s earliest tracks (“Never Fail”), Drugs of Faith are able to create sizzling guitar work that rivals even the most virtuosic shredders. All of the tracks on this EP are relatively short (with only a few songs breaking the two minute mark), but the tempestuous arrangements on Drugs of Faith’s tracks are able to tell more of a story than any other rock band would be able to do.

It is not only the guitars that occupy a focal point on this album, as the drums come to play in a major way during the ending of “The False War”. None (or only few) of the lyrics can actually be deciphered on this self-titled EP, but the fury in which Drugs of Faith couch these vocals cannot be surpassed. What would be nice to see are the lyrics for this album, as the cover of this EP showcases some political leaning by Drugs of Faith. What I can finally compare rugs of Faith to, after listening to this EP a number of times, is a dramatically harder version of Soundgarden.

The act has enough sludge present to make Captain Planet go after them, and the vocals of Richard during songs like “An Ode To Those Unwed” plays on a earlier music style. Even though this album ends at fifteen minutes, the amount of material that Drugs of Faith insert into each and every second of their songs makes the replay value of this EP considerably higher than most bands could reach if they had an entire album to work with. The band is able to work with so many musical styles, and unlike those acts that struggle to find their own sound while muddling through all of their influences, Drugs of Faith know exactly where they wish to go with this album and do it without fault. I’d like to see how the band does with a full album of material, but this EP is another good step for this act, who has been pounding out tracks for over 4 years.

Top Tracks: The False War, Burning

Rating: 6.2/10

[JMcQ]