Likely dating back to the 80s with the dawn of Gangsta Rap, the divide between the west and east coasts of our country grew wider and wider. Although not as intense as the NY vs. Mass beef, to this day there is still an ongoing rivalry between the west & east, with people continuing to engage in shit like the "Biggie vs. Tupac" debates. My allegiances lie where I was born and raised, which is in the east but I gotta tip my fedora to the west for giving way to a far better musical community as far as Punk/HC goes.

California is the American Mecca of Powerviolence and Punk, producing some of the most beloved bands in the genre. From the mid 80s to the early 90s, it was like England in the 60s with the "British Invasion". Rock music had reached their shores and experienced a great spring, propelling itself into a massive cultural phenomenon. The same can't be said for Powerviolence, as Joe DeNunzio isn't a household name (although it should be).

If we're using British Invasion as a comparison, Infest would be our Rolling Stones. Infest are definitely that important to the Hardcore Punk and Powerviolence scenes across the globe, having been cited as an influence thousands of times by younger bands. Any Punk adjacent fest or show I've been has had at least a few kids with Infest patches and shirts.

I've been privileged to see them at least six or seven times since their 2013 reunion, nearly as many times as I've seen Suffocation. It doesn't get old, because they're solid every time, and just as before their break up in the 90s, they always had tight musicians in their fold. Chris Dodge of Spazz was the initial reunion bassist, Bob Kasitz of Deep Six Records was on drums for awhile, they've had the cat from Despise You on bass, and now their rhythm section is even harder, with the additions of Jorge Herrera from ACxDC (also Despise You, Nomads, etc) and Spencer Pollard formerly of Trash Talk on bass. Big ups to Spencer for rolling an entire 8th in a backwood and blazing it down throughout the set. That is the rhythm section featured here, fat blunt included.

They've also had RD Davies on drums, a dude with possibly the craziest resume in the history of people who've been in Infest. He was or still is in Gehenna, Vastum, Chorus of Disapproval, Halo Epidemic, Hunger, Visual Discrimination, Manpig, and Prison. Chill dude too.

Joe Denunzio and Matt Domino are the ones who lead the blast unit, being the only constant members since the reunion. Matt Domino once said he's not much of a guitar player and he's described his specialty is "riffing for Infest and that's it" or something along those lines. In this regard he's definitely at the very top of his field, with a ton of guitarists in the genre admiring how he does his thing. They say he also coined the term "Powerviolence". As for Joe Denunzio, he's easily one of the most captivating frontmen I've ever seen and there's a million vocalists who try to replicate his ridiculous vocals (many come close, but there's only one original).

If you don't fuck with Infest you're probably a soft kindergarten baby. Sort yourself out by picking up their records and schooling yourself to some truth (you fuckin bozo).

Current and former members of Exit Unit, Low Threat Profile, Manpig, Neanderthal, ACxDC, Despise You, Nomads, Ruptures, Stop at Nothing, and Trash Talk.

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