My ten-year-old self is still inside, I’ll possibly never grow up. So, seeing the title Bret Hart got me interested.
The former WWF champion, iconic tag team champion of the Hart Foundation, the man from the Hart Dungeon, the older brother of King of Harts, Owen Hart RIP. This went through my mind the moment that title appeared.
This EP is by three-piece punk band and wrestling lovers, Von Justice. In their own words their sound is of headlocks, armbars and body slams. They mix their love of wrestling with their love for punk/crossover. The band are singer E. Von Justice, guitarist El Magro and drummer El Gordo, and they cover punk classics with a spin, with a spinarooni, and lyrics based on pro-Wrestling.
Will this be the best there was, the best there is or the best there will ever be?
Intro track is EP namesake “Bret Hart” standing at 1 minute 34 seconds, and it’s a fun track. The vocals are muffled, reminiscent of Vic and Bob from Shooting Stars. “Ric Flair is a Bloody Wanker” and “I Saw Hogan with Jimmy Hart” follow. The latter has a moment where it sounds as if Chewbacca gives it a go on the mic. The EP is over as quickly as it starts. It’s for fans of pro wrestling and punk – you’ll get the old school references.
What you have here is a breath of fresh air. I’m not gonna lie, I have no idea of the original tracks Von Justice are covering, and I have no idea what they’re saying, but that doesn’t matter. It’s fun, it gets the snot flailing. These guys would be great to have at an independent wrestling organisation, like Progress Wrestling to spill their kafabe music for all to hear. If you get what Von Justice are cooking… I’ll stop the wrestling references very shortly.
There’s no bassist in Von Justice, and E. Von Justice explains why:
We had a bass player. I mean, I think it’s safe to say that we still have one. The thing is, he – El Gringo – forgot to show up on the recordings of the ‘Ric Flair’ and ‘Hogan’ tracks because of all those problems with our previous drummer, so we did it anyway without him and decided to remove his baselines from ‘Bret Hart’ and remove his illustration from the artwork as well. We’re still friends, though, and he still laughs about it. I don’t, though.
Von Justice: facebook | bandcamp
