"Deranged is coming after you!"
Today I'm going to be taking a long hard look at one of the fresh and thrashy bands coming straight out of the lovely lovely Psychobilly scene in Southern California.Truth be told I've been a big fan of this project for a long, long time, even before they had released their full-length album, seeing as I've been in contact with the band's bassist Max before the lunatics hit the studio, so with that little warning out of the way let's get straight into the review.
The debut album from the Southern California Thrash-Psychobilly lunatics The Deranged was released on March 1st, 2023 and was largely self-published, with the first official physical release coming through Lycans Den. (link to be added)
The Deranged is a three piece band consisting of
Jacob aka Jake The Ripper on Guitar and Lead Vocals
Max aka Max Gein on Upright Bass and Backup Vocals
Clarinda aka Coco C on Drums
(Edit 4/10/24: Max and Jake split vocal duties on the album, Max sings on songs like: 6ix Houses Down, Aliens, Pigz, IT.)
The album was recorded/engineered by Cesar Mijia and Eddie Rivas
The album was produced by Lysa Flores and Maximiliano Flores
The album features 14 songs, including 3 instrumentals and 5 cover songs (correct me if I'm wrong in the comments)
The tracklist is as follows:
1. NOS, 1 minute 50 seconds (instrumental)
2. Aliens, 2 minutes 37 seconds
3. Astro Hell, 3 minutes 5 seconds
4. We're Deranged, 2 minutes 25 seconds
5. Derangenomics, 1 minute 4 seconds
6. 6ix Houses Down, 2 minutes flat
7. Cum n Giddit, 33 seconds (instrumental)
8. Pigz, 2 minutes 32 seconds
9. Can't Hardly Stand It, 2 minutes 18 seconds (cover)
10. J.A.N.B, 3 minutes 4 seconds
11. It, 2 minutes 21 seconds (cover?)
12. King of da Hizzie, 1 minute 7 seconds (cover?)
13. She Said, 3 minutes 32 seconds (cover)
14. Proud Mary (Wreckin' By The River), 2 minutes 16 seconds. (cover?)
1. NOS, 8/10
NOS is a fine start to the album, introducing the listener to the gritty production and fast but tight playing of the band, showing beautiful licks from Jake as well as the tight rhythm section that is Max and Clarinda following beautifully behind on the bass and drums. The song works perfectly to set the pace and get you hyped up for the listening experience that is about to come. For some the gritty production can be a minus but for me, it ties everything together nicely. 8/10 for a beautiful start.
2. Aliens, 9/10
Getting to the real meat and bones of the album now with the first full song, Aliens starts off again with a beautiful slow descent into the madness that is The Deranged. The lyrics are fun and the chorus section is catchy and definitely a great thing to shout a few beers deep on a good night. I often found myself humming the intro lick to the song to myself whenever I was doing something during the day, great writing on Jake's part. 9/10
3. Astro Hell, 9/10
A frantic song about being trapped in hell? Who doesn't love that, this song I feel encompasses everything that makes The Deranged great as a band, you hear Jake quite literally howling and shouting, slinging riffs and chords in your face like machine gun fire, Not to mention the beautiful bass intro by Max and the consistent rhythm and pace he keeps up for the whole song, seeing how sweaty he gets in videos of them playing this song just puts it into perspective how this band puts everything into their playing as they step out onto the stage, and that is something all musicians can admire.
Clarinda does a fantastic job behind the kit as always, keeping a tight ship behind the band, big kudos to them for all their work on this album as well o7.
9/10, a good song to introduce the band to someone.
4. We're Deranged, 9/10
The title track and first official single the band ever released onto streaming platforms. We're Deranged tells you everything you need to know, it is quite literally the introductory song to The Deranged, I don't think I need to say any more, listen for yourself and wreck along. 9/10
5. Derangenomics, 8/10
Probably the most batshit insane song on the album, it is short, it is tight, it is just a full-blown assault on the ears in the best possible way with dakka dakka drums and beautifully piercing guitar work, it's just a nice filler song to get the listener jamming along. And remember, Deranged is coming after you! 8/10
6. 6ix Houses Down, 10/10 (Personal Favourite)
Now this song is what I think of whenever I think of a beautiful Psychobilly song at its core, punky guitars, tight bass, driving drums and stories about serial killers. Nothing more a psycho could want from a song. The song boasts one of the best intro's on the whole album with the guitar riff reminiscent of a clock ticking down to your death at the hands of the Axeman, in every possible way I consider this song to be the best song The Deranged have put together so far, and if any future material is anything like this, I will be shouting off the rooftops for this band. 10/10
7. Cum n Giddit 6.5/10
A short and sweet interlude to introduce us to the B-sides of the album, I don't have much to say about this as a song besides that.
8. Pigz, 8.5/10
Pigz, a song full of Barnyard Ballers type vibes and distorted guitars for days, it's a wonderful way to start off the B-side songs with songs about murdering and burning "Pigz" and smoking weed of course, it's a killer song and a good song to jump in the pit to for sure. 8.5/10
9. Can't Hardly Stand It, 9/10
The first cover on the album starts off killer, with the deep bass slaps from Max underneath Jake wailing into the microphone before they kick off into pure murder makes this song the stand out track from the B side songs for me personally. I often found myself coming back to this song after listening to the full album purely just for the raw vocals that Jake delivers here. The trio really made this song their own in my personal opinion. 9/10
10. J.A.N.B, 8/10
I don't have much I want to say about this song besides the fact that it feels like Jake is a little drunk at some parts of the song on vocals, that's about anything original I have to say hahaha. Great song and probably the best mix on the bass this album has out of all 14 songs, big props to Max and Lysa. 8/10
11. It, 8/10
Beautiful guitar tone for the intro, reminds me a lot of Koffin Kats with a tinge of black metal esq production. I love Jake's lyrical delivery as an evil narrator with that snotty snarl, and the overall atmosphere the whole song creates makes me want hit the gym. 8/10
12. King of da Hizzie, 6.5/10
A quick instrumental to lead us into She Said, just another showcase of beautiful musicianship from the trio, nothing more needed to be said. 6.5/10
13. She Said, 9/10
If you ever want to feel like you're going absolutely fucking mental while hanging out with The Deranged, look no further than this track, I can't listen to it without cracking up and smiling purely because you can just hear how much fun the trio was having in the studio as they recorded this beautiful cover, hands down the funnest song to listen to on the entire album. 9/10
14. Proud Mary (Wreckin' By The River) 7/10
A beautiful conversion of a rockin' song, though it's not my favourite it is a great song to wrap up such a consistent album on, the guitar is mixed to be literally in your face and I can hear Clarinda smash the shit out of her cymbals, it's a noisy, thrashy, very metallic tasting song and I like it.
All in all the album clocks in at 30 minutes and 49 seconds long, I give it a strong 8.5 to 9 out of 10, my most listened to album of 2023 and probably all-time soon for a reason.
A beautiful song filled with just enough content to enjoy it from one song to another, a big shout out to The Deranged on my part as a fan. And an even bigger shout out to my man Max, I owe you at least a few beers if and when I come over stateside - J
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