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Hooked on Christ ; fastcore; Bearwood, Smethwick, United Kingdom :
Two man fastcore from Bearwood, West Midlands, featuring members of Property Damage and Fuck Right Off
When I slapped down the brightly coloured vinyl and Hooked on Christ came blaring out of the speakers my instant reaction was “This don’t half sound like Active Minds“. The vocals are more grind influenced, with that gruff, aaarrgghh thing going on but the guitar and drumming style are not far off. So, if this was one of those brief reviews that you get in zines like Artcore or Maximum RocknRoll I’d just refer to them as Active Grinds. Upon opening the 7 inch insert my deduction proved correct as, like Active Minds, Hooked on Christ consist of 2 people playing guitar, drums and no bass.
They share vocals and play fast hardcore (officially billed as fastcore) breaking down into occasional tuneful parts, but as mentioned, there is a grind influence. I don’t know if I’m just imagining it, but I’d say there is a vocal influence from Dave Trenga of Behind Enemy Lines who have a song called…..”Hooked on Christ”. Coincidence? I think not. The maximum you can get away with fitting on one side of a 7 inch is – so I am led to believe – about 6 minutes. Hooked On Christ go all the way to 6 minutes 30 seconds, squeezing in 12 songs. It’s all about Value For Money, kids! Lyrically their subject matter ranges from tea and hot sauce to singing about being in a band and more socio-political themes. Defiant pose with a cheeky grin.
https://hookedonchrist.bandcamp.com/