BANDCAMP REVIEW: Foreskin - selected tracks from "THVG"

The internet is a funny thing. If I ever asked my seventeen-year-old self if I thought I'd be regularly corresponding with a bunch of hella cool Pakistani guys on the subject of grind, I would have probably chuckled. "Ain't no tunes in Pakistan," I might have said. And boy, would I have been a wrong motherfucker.

Foreskin are a gang of seriously furious guys from Lahore, Pakistan. I have been in touch with their vocalist Hassan for probably two years or more, and he has been kind enough to share with me absolutely every new musical thing he has ever done (I have plans to review his other band, Multinational Corporations), and let me tell you, Foreskin kills. From the anime-inspired back-alley violence of the cover art to the vile grindthrash contained within, the whole package is fucking slamming.

The production on this thing is massive. Guitars flow from each speaker like magma, while the drums pulse with a beer-fueled rage that gives this thing a beating heart. "THVG Anthem" chugs and writhes along with a militant skateboard feel, and by the time the guitar solo hits, I am on the half-pipe of the mind. Grooves abound. The spoken-word portion of the song's second half hit me out of left field. Best protect your neck, motherfucker. Then, as announced, Sheraz lets that shit drop. 

"Antikvlt" vaults forward with some crust-inspired melodies, thrashed out until nearly-unrecognizable, until Sheraz motors into his neoclassical legato leads, and now we're fucking moving. Headbang, you fools! We are treated to more solos; Sheraz has got himself some Maiden-level chops. It isn't often I hear a guitar lead so composed, so thought-out. Dude knows his way around that fret board.

It's a shame that we only have two songs so far. I, for one, am pumped as fuck for Foreskin's inaugural EP, and cannot wait to pick up a copy. I have been thoroughly schooled by my Pakistan brothers - they have shown me that great tunes can exist wherever there is a need for them. It's supply and demand. The demand must be very high in Lahore if the supply is so pure and uncut. Head on over to Foreskin's bandcamp page and have several listens, then stay tuned for whatever Sammy Buay and his gang of miscreants have in store for us.