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2nd cassette from Raleigh's resident psychotic heavy noisy punks.
Our take: Second cassette EP from this killer Raleigh hardcore band. In case you were wondering whatever happened to Sorry State’s Das Drip and/or you’re curious about how Paranoid Maniac fits into the Raleigh hardcore family tree, this band is basically the final lineup of Das Drip with the vocalist swapped out for Jeff from Essex Muro and DE()T and longtime staple of the Triangle noise scene Alex Swing on second guitar. While Paranoid Manic definitely takes up where Das Drip left off, there are a lot of differences too. Paranoid Maniac takes a lot of influence from gnarly 80s Japanese metal-punk, and while that’s something I might not have picked up on if I was coming to this recording cold, when you compare the more pulled back rhythms here to Das Drip’s nervous energy, the difference is pretty clear. Paranoid Maniac is also way more maximalist than Das Drip was, their sound a cacophony of musical ideas producing constant unexpected collisions. The bass, vocals, and the two guitars often pull in different directions, and if that wasn’t enough, it sounds like they’ve added some additional harsh noise elements to the recording just to make things even dirtier and crazier. The dense but clear recording makes sure everything hits, and the packaging on the physical tape is a real object d’art in the way so many cool small-run noise releases are. While this isn’t retro enough that someone who gets excited at the mention of 80s Japanese punk should rush out and grab it immediately, those of us who see rooting through the past as an ideal way to springboard toward new musical horizons should definitely check out Garden Plot.