Hot Snakes

Thunder Down Under

(Swami)

Record Review by Alexis Roberts

Okay, so maybe the Hot Snakes broke up last year, but you know what? They are still very much alive in our hearts. After six years of thrashing punk rock, they called it quits for whatever reason, but lo and behold, they’re (sort of) back from the grave with Thunder Down Under, a live CD recorded prior to their split in the summer of 2005. You might call this a “greatest hits” type of album, as it includes the songs they enjoyed playing most.  Now that they’re broken up, they really don’t give a damn whether or not you like them, but, in keeping with the whole punk rock ideology, I have a feeling they may never have cared in the first place.

Although it’s a live CD—cleverly taking its title because it was recorded for an Australian radio station—it doesn’t sound all that different from the original recordings of these songs:  loud, somewhat political (but not too much), and all up in your face punk rock.

Supposedly punk is dead; that’s what everyone keeps saying, at least.  But, deep down, nobody really believes it.  There are still kids in mile-high Mohwaks running around sewn into their leopard print pants, and even if The Dead Kennedys and The Sex Pistols aren’t exactly still around, they inspired everyone who came after them.  The Hot Snakes were members of the new generation of a dying breed.  The Thunder Down Under may be the final nail in the coffin, and I hope that it brings them new fans and continues to spread the punk love.

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