Review / 200 Words Or Less
Beartrap
Fueled by Self-Hate

Double or Nothing (2009) Jon E.

Beartrap – Fueled by Self-Hate cover artwork
Beartrap – Fueled by Self-Hate — Double or Nothing, 2009

This release blazes through the listener at a ridiculously fast clip. Eight tracks of fast punk styled thrash madness. The label compares them to Trash Talk and Black Flag; I can't really disagree. I could see some craziness going down to this. They leave the experimentation to the last song which truly sets it apart almost seemingly written for a different release as it is much longer than the other songs and slows to crawl with creepy spoken word parts before fading out. This is a great release. It reminds me of when I first heard the First 4 Year compilation. Check it out and thrash hard.

8.8 / 10Jon E. • December 10, 2009

Beartrap – Fueled by Self-Hate cover artwork
Beartrap – Fueled by Self-Hate — Double or Nothing, 2009

Related features

Beartrap

One Question Interviews • June 19, 2014

Related news

Double Or Nothing Signs Beartrap

Posted in Labels on January 7, 2009

Recently-posted album reviews

Nicole Alexis

Mirrors & Smoke
Independent (2026)

There’s a fine line between stripped down music and so stripped back that is sounds empty. On Mirrors and Smoke, Nicole Alexis lands comfortably on the right side of that line, delivering a debut EP that leans into simplicity without losing its emotional weight. Built around acoustic arrangements and minimal production, the EP feels intentionally close. It feels like these … Read more

The Remote Controls

Too Tough
Fail Harmonic Records, Mom’s Basement Records (2025)

There’s a certain kind of punk band that doesn’t overthink things. No reinvention, no genre-bending manifesto, just fast songs, big hooks, and enough attitude to carry it all. Indianapolis’ The Remote Controls lean hard into that tradition on Too Tough, a record that feels less like a statement and more like a well-earned victory lap. Built on a steady diet … Read more

Sahan Jayasuriya

Don’t Say Please: The Oral History of Die Kreuzen
Feral House (2026)

For those of us who spent the mid-to-late 1980s navigating basement community halls, churches, and loveable, armpit-smelling dive bars, the name Die Kreuzen was a permanent fixture on the punk rock radar. They were the sound of the Midwest underground --too fast for the goths to do their spooky Bela Lugosi "shoo the bats away" interpretive dance, too technical for … Read more