Rhythm & Views

HERE ARE 15 astounding punk rock salvos that clock in at less than 30 incredible minutes. Rocketship-fast instrumental thrust and gruesomely screamed vocal pyrotechnics from these heavily tattooed gear heads haven't sounded this ruthless since the Dwarves charged on the scene a dozen years ago. Zeke, thriving near the grunge-ravaged bowels of the Pacific Northwest, shares the same speed-driven and crack-fueled angst as the band's sex-obsessed mentors. "Dirty Sanchez" is a masterpiece of drunken thrash punk mayhem unequaled since the Dwarves' carnal tour-de-force "Blood, Guts and Pussy." The strangulated yelp of Blind Marky Felchtone accompanied by the rat-a-tat guitar power of Mark Pierce, and anchored by the tank rolling rhythmic fortitude of drummer Donny Paycheck and bassist Abe Zanuel Riggs III gleefully maims and castrates all the NOFX's of this world. This is accomplished quickly, bluntly and without shedding an ounce of remorse. From inspiration as diverse as H.P. Lovecraft ("Horror At Red Hook") to fellow hooch peddlers the Murder City Devils ("Liar"), Zeke tackles the same blood-soaked cerebral terrain. On the Dwarves-dedicated "Razorblade," gore flicks, liquor, sex and drugs are favorite topics of group discussion. The bonus "hidden" track, a malicious cover of Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon," is virtually unrecognizable with its distressful shrieked vocals and the crumbling wall-of-noise instrumental backdrop. If Stevie Nicks heard this cataclysmic mess, she'd damn her newfound sobriety, and head straight for the nearest coke dealer.