Review
Cut The Shit
Marked For Life

Gloom (2004) Zed

Cut The Shit – Marked For Life cover artwork
Cut The Shit – Marked For Life — Gloom, 2004

By the time you read this, Cut The Shit will have already finished their final west coast shows and be on the way to breaking up. Their final show will no doubt be off the hook, but for those of us who won't be able to attend said event, we are blessed with ten and a half minutes of near perfect hardcore. Before listening you might want to take a really huge breath, because shit is about to get dangerous.

Cut The Shit plays hardcore how it was meant to be played: fast, angry, and in your fucking face. While this is not the most innovative concept I've ever come across, due to how well done it is and how hard it rocks down your intestines and out your anus, this record is definitely worth your time. For those not used to this type of sound, imagine the first fight you got into. Nobody knew what the hell they were doing, but it was primal as fuck. Cut The Shit doesn't pull out anything too complicated (it's punk rock, not tech metal) but simply due to the band's sheer velocity, power, and massive aggression, this release manages to stick its dong through one of your ears and out the other.

Their previous full length, Harmed And Dangerous, was one of the best releases of 2003, and their latest, Marked For Life, is more than able to surpass it. This happens because MFL is able to take everything that H&D did so well and condense it from 18 to 12 songs. The two albums definitely aren't that much different, but MFL seems to sound a bit harsher, angrier, and faster than H&D ever did. This condensed feeling might also come from the average song length diminishing from 57 seconds to about 54. The only real drawback to this album is that the songs sound pretty similar to one another, but due to the short length of this album, it doesn't become monotonous, though more pick slides and radical guitar solos would also be appreciated, and maybe a rock out jam equivalent to "Love Is A Lie."

While the gatefold vinyl version, limited to 1000, contains the Marked For Life release, the CD version contains the additional Bored To Death 7" and one sided 7" songs. If you're already a fan of bands like Tear It Up and Bones Brigade don't hesitate, fucking move.

8.6 / 10Zed • August 22, 2004

Cut The Shit – Marked For Life cover artwork
Cut The Shit – Marked For Life — Gloom, 2004

Recently-posted album reviews

Elway

Nobody’s Going To Heaven
Red Scare (2025)

There’s a specific kind of punk record that doesn’t try to inspire you, doesn’t bother offering solutions, and doesn’t pretend things are going to work out in the end. Nobody’s Going To Heaven is firmly planted in that tradition. Elway returns sounding less interested in rallying cries and more invested in documenting collapse as it happens. They cover every collapse … Read more

Heather The Jerk

Very Motorcycle EP
Goodbye Boozy (2025)

Heather The Jerk is a project from Madison, WI musician Heather Sawyer -- a scrappy punk band with garage and pop influences running rampant through the peppy, raw sound. This 4-song EP is called Very Motorcycle, released about a year after the Not Very Motorcycle tape. I have no idea what the phrase means, yet it sets a distinct mood. … Read more

Toys That Kill

Triple Sabotage
Recess (2026)

If you were lucky enough to catch Toys That Kill live last year, you were maybe treated to a set that included classic F.Y.P bangers like “Come Home Smelly” and “Jerkoff”. I made the trip down to Seattle to see them with Off With Their Heads specifically for this reason and was in no way disappointed. I had somehow managed … Read more