Mob Justice is the second LP from New Jersey’s cross-over hardcore punk band Paralysis. Following their 2017 debut
Life Sentence, the band takes its cues from the gruesome gang of executioners who have emerged to define the genre in the ‘00s, such as late and great Power Trip, as well as High Command, Enforcer, and Red Death. All of these bands basically play one form or another of Cryptic Slaughter or Nuclear Assualt era punk-thrash, and Paralysis distinguishes themselves from this crowd by leaning into slightly more rangy material reminiscent of Iron Age’s
The Sleeping Eye. Sure, all of the songs hit the bricks running with the force of a linebacker, but it’s really the weird detours that these tracks sometimes embark on that makes the difference. Opener “Mob Justice” sounds like an early Power Trip demo with its Nuclear Assault grooves and guttural Cro-Magnum screams. “Oblivious” slithers into Slayer’s toolshed and steals a couple of pit-inciting grooves, “Onward to Slaughter” plays around with the tempos in very 90s death metal kinda way, while “Had Enough” is sheer thrash animus. Fast, groovy, and brutal! What else could you ask for?
