Cleveland, Ohio. A part of Ohio I refer to as NEO, or North East Ohio, deals out a slice of hardcore past in the form of Agitated. Agitated is, or rather was, a band composed of members of Guns, The Dark, Prisonshake, and Spike in Vain (to name a few), that formed and disintegrated in about a year, leaving only some obscure cassette compilation songs in their wake. Me? This CD is the latest in the series of a re-education of Cleveland/NEO punk culture. Myself, as well as others, have been given a shitload of second chances by Smog Veil on all the fine treasures some people passed up, and treasures that some never even knew existed except those in and around Cleveland, Ohio.
Agitated is one of those. Fine Gems!!!! If you’re ready for some early-mid 80’s style thrash-punk reminding me of early Poison Idea, then here you fucking go!!!! For a band that sounds as if they have roots and basic likes of rock and roll (because they cover "I Got A Right" and "Kick Out The Jams"), they shurly leave all traditional concepts of ROCK behind and speed things up to almost dizzying levels. ‘Go Blue…’ plays to me like an alternate universe Adolescents, except faster.... Mohawks, bandanas tied around combat boots. Mohawks. Thrash punk. Listening to a CD like this makes me want to smash bottles and ride over the broken glass with my skateboard. The only problem is that I lack the balance needed to ride the skateboard. Aw hell, I’ll still break the glass, and if nothing else, maybe just walk across it in my combat boots with a bandanna tied around my right ankle. Smog Veil has another winner here!