National Music Reviews
Dead in the Dirt
The Blind Hole
Southern Lord
Street Date: 08.06
Dead in the Dirt = Nails + Dropdead + Rorschach
For all the absolute garbage being released by Southern Lord these days, if one chooses to sift through it, they’ll find somewhat unlikely treasure. Case in point, Atlanta’s Dead in the Dirt and their debut full length, The Blind Hole. This is one of the most angry and downright filthy releases I’ve heard in many moons, managing to stuff 22 songs into roughly 20 minutes. From beginning to end, Dead in the Dirt scarcely give the listener a chance to breathe, and the high- and low-end vocal swap almost makes one feel as if they’re in the middle of a deranged “good cop/bad cop” grilling, but it’s a grilling you want to continue for as long as possible. In short, this is a motherfucker of a release, and it belongs in your collection. –Gavin Hoffman