I Really Think So

After years of research and listening I sometimes think I'm aware of all the bands, that I've heard everything ever released that I could possibly like. And every now and then something pops up to prove me wrong.

This week I discovered a Japanese hardcore band called BBQ Chickens that are the best “new” thing I've happened on in a while and it was completely by accident.

I had an urge to listen to Black Sabbath's Symptom of the Universe and searched for the song on Google Play Music. There were a number of versions by them and others and I listened to Sepultura's version (back from when they were still a good band, before Max left and it turned to shit) and then I moved on to the next one.

My first impression was it wasn't a cover of Sabbath's classic, but a different song with the same name. How wrong I was. It was a much faster version and yes, the riff had been changed, but it was awesome. I had to listen to it again. And again. This led to me listening to a full album of cover versions and then ultimately to me submerging myself in BBQ Chickens' back catalogue for several days.

There is little information about BBQ Chickens, especially in English, but here's what I know: the band was created in 2000 by Ken Yokoyama and three friends he'd known since childhood. Yokoyama had already been the guitarist in Hi Standard (another band that was new to me), a punk band that were signed to legendary label, Fat Wreck. He is also the founding member of bizarre funk/rock/pop combo, the Crazy Ken Band, and has released rock stuff under his own name too. It turns out he's fairly prolific and has featured on at least 30 full-length releases of varying sorts in the last 20 years and they're only the ones I know of. Oh, and he founded Pizza of Death Records too.

BBQ Chickens' first album, Indie Rock Strikes Back, is 18 minutes long and contains 19 songs. That's classic hardcore fare right there. It's unclear how seriously it was being taken as the themes are both sensible and ludicrous. Who cares when the music is this good? Everything is sung in English and language imperfections are soon lost in the shouty vocals. It's well produced and an incredibly solid debut by any standards, even if your standards are hi (see what I did there?). It has sold over 85,000 copuies which isn't platinum, gold, silver or even tin, but how many albums have you sold? There are the obligatory-within-hardcore very brief songs, Ritzpoo (8 seconds) and Hungry (4 seconds) for purists of the genre (?) to enjoy. Actually, the short songs sound more like a nod to some of the similar stuff S.O.D. used to do. Still good though.

Best track: Andy's Dead

Their next album, Good Bye to Your Punk Rock, is in my opinion even better. Nothing much has changed, except that this time there are 20 songs in 18 minutes. The time is kept down by More Beer (6 seconds) and Love, Love, Love (5 seconds), but there are some real belters on here too. There are amazing riffs and breakdowns all over the shop Anyone thinking hardcore is only an American thing, mostly confined to scenes within New York, Boston and LA needs to broaden their horizons ASAP. The energy and passion of the likes of Blood For Blood or Sick Of It All is here in bucketloads and the songs are catchy and the kind you want to listen to again and again. Hardcore can be done with a smile too, you know.

Best track: Fuck VIP Fuck

And so on to the album that started it all for me, Fine Songs, Playing Sucks. This is all covers and most of them are songs you wouldn't expect from a hardcore band. There's the aforementioned Symptom of the Universe, Sham 69's If The Kids Are United (my mate Gaz said of this: “now that's how that song should be played”) and then it gets weird. There's a Backstreet Boys number, a Madonna classic, the Theme from Sesame Street and Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini (a Timmy Mallet classic?) and they're all delivered with BBQ Chickens' humour and hardcore panache. There are a couple of quick songs on here as well just to pacify those with short attention spans (this is another short album with 15 songs in 13 minutes).

Best track: Bonded by Blood – yes, the Exodus anthem. It's a shame it's only one verse and chorus though.

Every band worth their salt takes a hiatus and BBQ Chickens were no different. There was no output at all between 2003 and 2011, but then they returned with Crossover and Over (18 songs, 19 minutes). As the title suggests there was a bit more metal creeping into their sound by this point, but that's no bad thing. It sounds like a Japanese version of Municipal Waste in parts and that's also no bad thing either. The songs are still fast and the riffs are still frantic. There are even the obligatory short songs still: No Nuclear Power (6 seconds) and Sex (4 seconds and you can make your own joke about that).

Best song: Andrew's Theme

The last release by BBQ Chickens was Broken Bubbles in 2013. 18 songs in 22 minutes this time. Were they beginning to slow down? Not really. This album picks up where the last one left and continues with the more metal-infused hardcore they were now a lot more comfortable with. There are even a couple of songs with full on blast beats, just to properly earn them their metal stripes. This time there's only only short song, album closer Good Night (4 seconds). Fans of cover versions will enjoy their versions of Ace of Spades and Black Flag's Rise Above too.

Best track: Pride vs Pride

There don't seem to be any immediate plans to tour or record anything and my tweets badgering Ken Yokoyama and Pizza of Death Records about it have so far gone unanswered.