Bet you never knew you needed an EP of vehicular hardcore, did you? No, neither did I. But you do now, because Big Ass Truck I.E. promise exactly that, and there is precious little room for misunderstanding once this thing starts moving.
The initials stand for Inland Empire, the region of Southern California they call home. All you really need to know, though, is that they are heavy as all hell. Five tracks, roughly ten minutes, and seemingly every second dedicated to finding another way to flatten you.
“Hell is only a word, reality is much worse,” comes the warning as “Found On Road Dead” begins. Fair enough. What follows suggests they have done extensive research into the subject. Breakdown? Beatdown? Whatever you call it, this is so crushing, so nasty, that you almost envy the roadkill.
“Dragging Meat” was the single, and at over three minutes on a record like this, it is practically prog. If you were expecting the radio-friendly number, however, then you have taken a spectacularly wrong turning. Fast and nasty, it barrels along with absolutely no interest in making the journey comfortable. There is a grim sort of pleasure in how completely it commits to the idea, though. Once it has you, it keeps coming.
When the Big Ass boys slow down, as they do on “Big Ass Gun”, it is simply because they have worked out how to crush you even more effectively. These aren’t riffs. These are weapons of war.
Across this lot, drummer Andres Torres beats his kit like he has found it in bed with his wife. Or, given the nature of the record, perhaps it has run over his dog. “Forced Through Sludge” is a title that gives you a fair idea of the terrain.
Then “1 Trillion Pounds” supplies a final, 54-second maelstrom. Apparently, there was still something left standing.
Subtlety is in short supply, and ten minutes is probably the right amount of this particular punishment. Still, there is something wonderfully ridiculous about music this determined to be heavier than everything else on the road. You can almost smell the burning rubber.
Rating: 7/10
