Fugazi – In On The Killtaker

In on the Kill Taker is like scrubbing your face with steel wool. It finds the band relying on rusty guitar shards that scrape, seethe, and hiss, further removing itself from the sound of 13 Songs and Repeater. Harsh and grating, Fugazi surprisingly produces sheer noise at times, best witnessed in the lengthy closing of "23 Beats Off" and the unintentional Gremlins homage that opens "Walken's Syndrome." Joe Lally's bass and Brendan Canty's drums are relegated to acting as a guide; they're pushed - but not squashed - down in the mix, allowing for Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto's guitars to take control, corrosively so. It's probably Fugazi's least digestible record from front to back, but each track has it's own attractive qualities, even if not immediately perceptible. 

Tracklisting:

A1 Facet Squared
A2 Public Witness Program
A3 Returning The Screw
A4 Smallpox Champion
A5 Rend It
A6 23 Beats Off
B1 Sweet And Low
B2 Cassavetes
B3 Great Cop
B4 Walken's Syndrome
B5 Instrument
B6 Last Chance For A Slow Dance