### Municipal Waste: The fatal feast

#### 23/07/12 || Habakuk

Ever told you that story about the peak of my band’s shortlived career? Well, probably, but I’ll make sure you hear it again and again. So back around 2005, Municipal Waste stoppd by in my city at a big venue, and we got the support gig. Problem was though, they basically played the backstage dressing room, there was no promotion and we didn’t draw any crowd either, except for a few shitfaced friends (that however did have a genuinely good time). Anyway, so I saw these folks play for about 20-30 people after releasing their best album to date (“Hazardous mutation”, for reasons unknown not reviewed on GD yet). Bad luck, but anyway – they do have a spot in my memory and heart, and their later gigs here have been more successful as well.

Too bad that musically they went down the drain more and more ever since, following their shtick a bit too long and not convincingly enough. Hence I can’t say I had been looking forward much to hearing new ‘Waste material anymore. Accordingly big was my positive surprise when I was forced to do so in AA May, where they actually managed to deliver an entertaining slab of their flashback thrash again.

Well, if you’ve always hated them, there is nothing here to change that. To me it seems however that a lot of people just diss every retro thrash band for the perceived hype around the “wave” and the ensuing flood of mediocre me-toos. Thus Municipal Waste will probably have a hard time getting as high grades as they did earlier on principle alone, while technically there doesn’t need to be anything wrong with what they do. In this case, a few tracks could surely have been trimmed, but what do you expect from a 17-track, 40-minute Municipal Waste album?

“The fatal feast” ain’t their finest work, but it’s is a damn solid effort. Their musical skills have always been a strength of this band, and for an outfit with three instruments only, these guys sure know how to stir shit up big time. Ryan Waste’s bass playing is definitely a huge part of that while Dave Witte with his signature off-key style saves the band from the staleness of many of their imitators, and Tony Foresta tops it all off with one of his typically hysterical and gang shout-backed performances. And in order not to leave him out unfairly, let’s just say Landphil fills his role pretty damn well, too. It can be summed up in one word: riff.

So, if you still have no idea who this band is – this ain’t a bad place to start. If you know and like what they do – you can’t go wrong, but don’t expect anything new. And if you’ve had it with Municipal Waste by now, no need to bother much. Just be advised they still / again got something going for them, but you’d be better off seeing them live. All in all, “The fatal feast” marks a slight return to form.

- Information
- Released: 2012
- Label: Nuclear Blast
- Website: www.facethewaste.com
- Band
- Tony Foresta: vocals
- Landphil: guitars
- Ryan Waste: bass, vocals
- Dave Witte:drums

- Tracklist
- 01. Waste in space (main title)
- 02. Repossession
- 03. New dead masters
- 04. Unholy abductor
- 05. Idiot check
- 06. Cowered in sick / The barfer
- 07. You’re cut off
- 08. Authority complex
- 09. Standards & practices
- 10. Crushing chest wound
- 11. The monster with 21 faces
- 12. Jesus freaks
- 13. The fatal feast
- 14. 12 step program
- 15. Eviction party (Bonus)
- 16. Death tax
- 17. Residential disaster