Review / 200 Words Or Less
Fatal Birth
Self Titled

Twelve Gauge (2012) — Jon E.

Fatal Birth – Self Titled cover artwork
Fatal Birth – Self Titled — Twelve Gauge, 2012

Fatal Birth are a relatively new band. This being their first major release one could assume any number of things from the bands' artwork alone. Presented in a simple black and white sleeve With a dark picture of a hallways and a hanger lying on an otherwise empty floor the band gives off an idea of something sinister.

The record itself starts with a slow building riff followed by a demonic yell and sludgy trudge into the main part of the song and the band only slows occasionally afterwards. There are a couple of the songs that follow this formula mind you even with that they are not over a minute and half long at any point. The band refuses to overstay their welcome. Instead they take cues from early power violence playing nasty a fast as they can. So needless to say, the band is uninterested in subtlety.

The recording remains nasty and grimy throughout. Never allowing any type of light to shine through the music at all. The feeling remains angry and overbearing. Maybe a better word would be suffocating as you can feel the anger seeping through the songs. Overall the band use this to their advantage making the listener feel the anger that they as a band are professing in each song. So if you as a listener are looking for a new band to feed your pv addiction or just need something more angry than most hardcore bands this would be well worth picking up.

7.3 / 10 — Jon E. • March 12, 2012

Fatal Birth – Self Titled cover artwork
Fatal Birth – Self Titled — Twelve Gauge, 2012

Recently-posted album reviews

Haywire 617

I Don't Wanna Say Goodbye
Roadrunner (2026)

How does one describe what differentiates a good hardcore band vs. something special within the space.It's really difficult to explain but Haywire 617 has proven to be something special.When boiled down to base elements Haywire is a hardcore band in the vein of something like latter day Blood For Blood (specifically their more Rock n' Roll/Oi elements with Rob singing). … Read more

super*user

Gutless Wonder
GC Records, Ideas Are Bulletproof Records (2026)

Detroit is famous for bands like the MC5 and The Stooges, White Stripes and of course KISS. Fellow Detroiters super*user may sound nothing like any of those bands but I would have thought it would take some KISS-sized balls to intentionally start your punk record with a riff ripped off from U2’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday”! Maybe that one’s unintentional but … Read more

Nick Soulsby

Born of Struggle, Living in Hope: The Anarcho-Punk Lives of the Centro Ibérico (1971-1983)
PM Press (2026)

Living in Hope , as the subtitle suggests, is a punk-centric history of the Centro Ibérico, an anarcho-punk squat at 421 Harrow Road. It is also the first book-length treatment of the space, which was at the crossroads of far-right fascist violence, police surveillance, housing disputes, and the punk scene. Founded in 1970 by Spanish Civil War veteran Miguel García … Read more