Maybe I don't know as much about the hardcore scene as I thought. Six And Violence is a new name to me, but these jokers were legendary fixtures on the East Coast scene for years and years until cashing their chips in in 2005 following the death of singer Paul Gazzara. These dudes were maybe the ultimate example of what I call "goofcore"...hardcore mixed with comedy. "Bastards of the Universe" is the most exhaustingly complete tribute to the insane antics of S & V from their raw beginnings in 1985 right up to their final recording in 2005. No fan of the band could be unsatisfied with this massive 2-CD collection.

There are 59 total tracks here, so you're nuts if you think I'm gonna go into all of them! Let's just say if you could imagine Agnostic Front crapped out of their minds on nitrous oxide or possibly Paul Schafer's session band crossed with Anthrax at their most ridiculous....you still wouldn't really be close! But you'd at least be on the way to understanding the hare-brained hijinx of Six and Violence, who worship stupidity the way Deicide bows to Satan. Song titles like "All My Best Friends Are Turning Into Their Dads", "Commando Raid on Mr. Roger's Neighborhood", "I'm Gonna Kick God's Ass" and the epic "Fuck This" give you some indication of the band's humor. Cartoon and comedy show samples along with improvised stand-up bits are interspersed throughout the musical assault, which generally relies on fast Gorilla Biscuits type hardcore with added stupid bits. It will all have you rolling your eyes and chuckling along.

Highlights include an actual flute solo from Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson on "Bursting Bladder"(complete with Ian's commentary), the quite thrashing "Six and Violence Theme Song", the Britpunk influenced "Smasher of Rocks" (complete with Cockney vocals) and the intense "Roadrash". Brilliant cover songs include "Sunshine Day" (a medley of Jethro Tull songs), Hendrix's "Crosstown Traffic", the Sanford & Son TV theme, Rush's "Working Man" combined with the band's own "Petty Staycheck", Agnostic Front's "Victim in Pain" (very faithful cover) and Devo's "Wiggly World". Quite a bizarre collection! Also, do not under any circumstances miss the foul-mouthed and hilarious recording of a band meeting that has the guys screaming bloody murder at each other.This monster is accompanied by a HUGE booklet with all the lyrics, singer Kurt Wenzel's notes on individual songs, several testimonials and lots of funny stories about Paul Gazzara. It is a complete and thorough tribute to a band of pencil-neck geeks who never took anything seriously except fun. Lovers of oldschool hardcore who don't mind a heaping dose of idiocy should eat this up like a Chinaman eats dog!