May 27, 2012

Album No. 9 from Riverside, California-based aggro-ska-punk band Voodoo Glow Skulls offers little in the way of surprises—which, in their case, is a good thing. Their first album since 2007’s Southern California Street Music (and their first album not on Epitaph or Victory in nearly 20 years), the Skulls pick up right where they left off with high-octane ska-punk highlighted by the gruff-around-the-edges vocals of Frank Casillas, one of three brothers in the band. What always makes VGS stand out from the rest of the ska-punk scene is their heavier riffing and angrier sound. The only other band to use a horn section this successfully to complement such precise riffs was San Diego’s Rocket From The Crypt, but they were completely devoid of ska. Meanwhile, Voodoo Glow Skulls can bust out a balls-out ska track like “Puro Desmadre” which would instantly blow the minds of neighborhood rude boys. Whether it’s creepy bop of “Police Knocking On My Door” or the blazing political punk/reggae mixture “The Resurrection,” Break The Spell kicks ass in both tone and message.