ALBUM REVIEW: Splatter Punx On Acid (reissue) – Black Uniforms

Chances are most people have no idea who BLACK UNIFORMS are, unless they were super-invested in the hardcore and punk scenes of the 80s and early 90s. That’s because the band haven’t actually been active since then, and released barely a handful of songs in their debut album and a scattering of demos that likely would’ve never seen the light of day. They did, however, eventually surface in 2001 on cult label Hardcore Holocaust, now collected as Splatter Punx On Acid. 

A lot of the band’s influences can be found, as you’d expect, in the legendary DISCHARGE, whose album Why? effectively created the Swedish hardcore scene that we know today in the wake of its release, but there’s just as much influence taken from the UK82 sound, the second wave of 80s punk but if it were fed a steady diet of heavy metal and thrash. In other words, this rough collection of greasy-haired, raucous demos might just point towards one of the first crossover bands. 

Now, though, Helter Skelter Productions have got their mitts on that collection and are reissuing it for the modern hardcore/crossover fan, an interesting move given the global resurgence of hardcore that’s far more forward-looking than it is back; and for the bands mining older inspirations, it’s more 90s alt rock than 80s crossover. For the most part, it’s exactly as you’d expect; Vi Fulla, Do U Conform and F.O.A.D. collectively are a sliver over five minutes long in total, offering the kind of beat-you-up-in-an-alley punk that thinks production is a thing that happens to other people. 

Elsewhere, there are stronger cuts that – gasp – almost take their time. Computer World might only be three minutes but has plenty of that raging thrash speed and some honest to goodness hooks scattered throughout, while Sacrifice does its best to sound as evil as possible, a freewheeling, snotty punk assault on the ears. It’s not all great, with Suck My Cock being far too middle of the road to justify its crass name, while Cannibal Carnage and G-Town (Ghostown) / Rokk Rolls commit the cardinal sin in hardcore of being too damn long; the former is five minutes dead, the latter an incomprehensibly sprawling near-seven. 

Frankly, there’s not much to judge; this collection was already old news in 2001 when it was first unearthed and the last 22 years have seen hardcore go from a small underground concern to a globe-bothering phenomenon, crossover has arguably crowned its kings in POWER TRIP and those following in their oversized footsteps. BLACK UNIFORMS arguably helped pave the way for those bands, and this rough collection of demos shows exactly how that happened – but right now it’s really only necessary if you’re a real niche historian or superfan. 

Rating: 6/10

Splatter Punx On Acid (reissue) is set for release on August 23rd via Helter Skelter Productions/Regain Records.