Duncan Wilder Johnson / Destruct-a-thon

Duncan Wilder Johnson is something of an anomaly in the pantheon of rock-guys-turned-monologuists. The first generation of these, Jello Biafra and Henry Rollins, used their name recognition as the leaders of semi-famous hardcore punk bands to propel them onto a loose-knit postpunk lecture circuit. Johnson, though he is also a lapsed hardcore musician, has no such base to draw on. The last in his long line of bands broke up without releasing so much as a single; he finds himself releasing his first solo spoken-word album on a label that politely declined to sign him as a musician. Although he has self-published several chapbooks of poetry and other writings, he is not a regular on the local literary circuit. So if he succeeds as a "spoken-word artist" -- rock's official literary subgenre -- he would be among the first to do so without laying claim to either musical or literary talent.


This isn't to say that Johnson's not very good at what he does -- only that it's hard to pinpoint what that might be. For one thing, he's extremely good at talking about Slayer. His account, on his new Heavy Metal Spoken Word (Wonderdrug), of attending an autograph-signing session by the high princes of metal at the Braintree branch of Newbury Comics works as gonzo rock criticism and also as a kind of narrowcasted stand-up comedy routine. As an art-school grad and life-long punk fan, Johnson falls into the most self-conscious subcategory of Slayer enthusiasts -- sarcastically skeptical and yet hopelessly devoted, equally as enamored of the idea of being a Slayer fan as of the music itself. He awakes "with flying-V guitars dancing in my head" and trundles to the mall, where "the elite youth of the South Shore metal scene" gather "like war generals meeting for council."

Through Slayer, Johnson is able to capture the essence of heavy metal as teenage rock lust -- fast, furious, godlike, goofy, evil, and ultimately harmless. One of his best anecdotes is a parking-lot confrontation between the mulleted masses and a couple of lone punk-rockers, which he relates with an equally sharp eye for the latter's casual dismissiveness and the former's juvenile homophobia. He also speaks the language, with an unsparing use of the all-purpose verb "rock," and infinitesimal shadings on the pronunciation of "dude." He plays the roles of insider and outsider with such ease that the line between the two practically evaporates before your eyes. "I wish I was a slut," he declares in a segment that deconstructs his fear of romantic involvement, "but I'm just a kid who reads too much into Black Sabbath."

Johnson grew up in Upton, near Worcester, and by the age of 12 he was immersed in the local punk scene. Inspired by Rollins et al. -- but also by the increasing difficulty of keeping a band together -- he began performing a combination of poetry, written observations, and off-the-cuff commentary at open-mike nights. "When the band wasn't playing, I went down to the Thursday night coffeehouse at the Espresso Bar and just read weird shit. Occasionally I would perform at hardcore shows -- I went on first and I would read these really loud, fast, aggressive pieces, and people dug it. Then I moved to Boston to go to Mass Art, and that's where I met Clay Fernald and Rich Mackin, and we started putting on shows."

The three formed an informal collective, eventually releasing a compilation CD, On Tour Without a Band, through Johnson's Redbackpack mini-press. They have marketed themselves in much the same way, and in the same circles, as one would promote a punk band -- through photocopied flyers, and playing out-of-the-way places like basements and VFW halls and art galleries. Johnson and Fernald are about to embark on their second extended tour; on some nights they'll play with bands, on others with performance artists, and they'll make at least appearance at a comedy club. "The more DIY," Johnson says, "the better." - From The Boston Phoenix, 8 Days A Week 2000

There's metal music on here courtesy of Duncan's band Destruct-A-Thon, and it's really fucking good. Somewhere in between thrash metal and sludge music topped off with pissed off screaming. The songs are all fairly short and the song-titles / song topics are all pretty funny but all the songs kick ass and break up the spoken word stuff nicely. I have honestly sat down and listened to this disc in it's entirety about 10 times over the past 4 days which even for a review I never do. The songs would be perfect soundtracks to stomping on little mall metal kids until their heads pop and that gelatinous mass filled with memories of watching Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park and whatever other bands misspell their names videos will slowly decompose and save us from a world populated with these little bastards. - Hellridemusic.com

"These were performance pieces, not poems. Duncan delivered his work with dynamic body language and vehement rage that most front men should take note of."
- The Northeast Performer

"Think spoken word has to be about sensetivity and women's issues? Think again, Duncan Wilder Johnson is a 'spoken word artist and he's pretty metal. - San Francisco Weekly

If you dig Duncan’s stuff, you will wallow joyfully among these three slabs of previously unreleased Duncanistic coolness, and if you aren’t familiar with him, this is one hell of an intro. You get the full-length Destruct-a-thon disc, Es Muerto, featuring a new five-piece line-up. The first incarnation of Destruct-a-thon ably walked the tricky line between stoner and metal, and so does this lineup, but with a bit less herbalism. Then there’s an EP by Kill It All Away, the two-piece that Duncan founded in the wake of Destruct-a-thon’s breakup, which essentially leaves the stonerisms out of the equation and goes for more of a full-on metal vibe, with enough punk rage and speed to make the “metalcore” label almost stick, although it peels off pretty easily. Finally, there’s a full disc of Duncan’s spoken word stuff. Now, comparisons to Rollins or Biafra are probably inevitable here, but Johnson has a better sense of humor, and the socially relevant stuff is on a more personal level.
(Tim Emswiler) - The Noise

By Phil Macnamera

(All Tracks Mastered by Nick Zampiello at New Alliance
East Allston, MA: Destructathon – Es Muerto
(2001-2004): Produced by Ethan Dussault and
Destructathon, Engineered and Mixed by Ethan Dussault
at New Alliance Studios Boston, MA; Kill It All Away
EP: Produced by Duncan Wilder Johnson, Tim Waltner,
and Eman Pacheco, Engineered by Tim Waltner at New
Alliance, and Mixed by Andrew Schneider, Tim Waltner,
Eman Pacheco, and DWJ at Translator Audio Brooklyn, NY; Duncan Wilder Johnson Has a Short Guy Complex:
Spoken Word Number Four: Recorded in various
locations, Additional Mastering by Kenny Camaro)

Is that enough production credits for you? What can
you say about a short heavy metal spoken word guy from
Upton, Mass? That’s how Duncan Wilder Johnson
Describes himself in the first cut of his fourth
spoken word album “Duncan Wilder Has a Short Guy
Complex...” “The Heavy Metal Spoken Word Guy” has been
at it since 1995 in bands and in live spoken word
performances, speaking mostly about, yeah you guessed
it, heavy metal.

The first of the three CDs in this set is 14 new songs
from Destructathon, a kick ass metal band that Duncan
fronted from 2001 until 2004 that drew inspiration
from Slayer, Black Flag, and Kyuss. They reunited this
year to make “Es Muerto.” Me, I’m glad that they did.
Duncan and friends bring the adrenaline fueled fist
pumping furious anti war anthem opener, “Not in Our
Name.” Hard pounding, speedy circle pit inspiring
heavy metal drumming and Duncan’s own brutal riffing
lets you know that this is going to be an album of
real metal.

In a mad dog growl Duncan rails against, “Privileges
masked as freedom” There’s some thing a little hokey
and almost new metal feeling about “9 Squares,” but
it’s likeable anyway. When Duncan reads off the nine
reasons he writes (home, friends, family, money,
careers) I can’t help but think, where’s the one that
he writes for Satan? I mean that even rhymes with 10,
although, as Duncan points out, so does amen.

The head banger, “Exorcise This Cold Ghost” is easily
my favorite song on the CD. Eman Pacheco rolls out the
drums with reckless abandon as Duncan and guitarist
Michelle “666” Morgan duel Slayer style. Michelle
takes the vocal duties and opens with one of the more
memorable lines on the disc, “I strive to be the
phoenix rising, Desire the glory, Return with the
prize of peace.”

Duncan screams along side of her, but somehow manages
to avoid the pitfalls of clichés. On guitar Morgan
holds her own with Duncan, shredding with as much
ferocity. It’s the song that makes me glad that
Destructathon is back. They follow that with the crazy
shifting tempos of the math rock meets death metal
anthem of “Bring the Knives.” “Slayden” is also a fave
of my as Duncan screams and Michelle sings of
redemption. They keep up the Slayer like intensity and
heaviness as Duncan’s grim and nihilistic lyrics
bounce off Michelle’s positive ones. After hearing it
many times, I can’t help but think that it might be a
good idea to let her sing more often. Her melodic
vocals definitely add something to the growl fest “No
Diet, All Insomnia.” The song shifts from heavy thrash
into grooving hard rock throughout. “Michelle” offers
something different, opening with a barreling slow
bluesy Sabbath riff, while Morgan belts out the song
like a swaggering bar band singer. Her vocals along
with the killer math rock jam that ends this tune make
it the most unique one on the disc.

The six-minute epic “Receive the Loss” gets to
sounding a little repetitive a mere minute into the
song, from there the feedback drenched jam that
follows doesn’t do much for me. The super speedy drum
jam that ends it comes a little too late to save my
interest in it. The mostly instrumental “Ultimatum” is
fun to listen to but not so memorable. It kind of
sounds like an outtake. “Freedom Olde Yeller Style” is
silly, but at less than two minutes, OK with me. The
Helmet like riffing that runs through “Flamethrower”
makes it a fun tune. The home stretch is a mixed bag
as “Daisy Cutter” is mostly repeating lyrics. The
instrumentation and effects in “Rick’Ah” make it a
little more memorable. “Soundtrack” is basically an
answering machine message set to a progressive metal
soundtrack. It’s not terrible. That’s how the
Destructathon album stumbles to a close.

Kill It All Away is the band that Johnson and drummer
Eman Pacheco formed after the demise of Destructathon
in an effort to be heavier with crazier time changes
and in an effort to keep hardcore and metal fun, they
invited some of the best vocalists in New England
metal. They open up with the slashing chugga chugga
riffing of “Fail for a Lifetime.” Duncan and Eman
Pacheco go on a math rock tear as tempos shift all
over the place. To help Duncan with the screaming Jet
from Sam Black Church joins in. It’s not really in the
screaming that Jet stands out. - Wormtown.org

Well, fasten your safety belts boys and girls, this review is going to be an interesting ride. Right from the gate it’s an unusual format, being three CD’s of different projects (all featuring Duncan Wilder Johnson) in a DVD size case. Some positive points are awarded up front for the innovative approach to packaging and some expectation points awarded for the description of the spoken word disc as blending the sensibilities of Bill Hicks and Headbangers Ball (if you don’t know who Bill Hicks is, it’s past time for you to check out one of Comedy’s greats). There are also some points taken away up front for titling this Workaholica, “Workaholic” would have done just fine, no need to reference a band who managed to turn a barrel full of promise into an empire of shit.

Well let’s launch into the first disc, which is [destruct-a-thon, one of Duncan’s bands, this one tagging themselves as “a little Sabbath...a little Flag...all Black”....not by any means a bad portent. Lead off track “Not In Our Name” turns out to be one of the most aggressive hardcore punk tunes on this disc, charging out of the speakers like an east coast thick neck hardcore band channeling the heavier end of Black Flag’s material and sprinkled with a bit of anarcho-crust. From there on out it alternates between that type of material and a seriously hard to pin down sound...especially when Michelle Morgan takes over the vocal duties...almost like Neurosis, Black Flag and The Melvins doing some kind of twisted fucked up mating dance with The Nymphs. Easy listening this is not, reminiscent of the mighty Sabbath not at all to my ears (unless you count the simple thickness of the guitar) but it grows on you with repeated listening. At times it feels like they are trying too hard, but most of the time it’s pretty fascinating that it can be this unique in a fairly simple genre. I was somehow unable to play the bonus video tracks, but I have a feeling this is the kind of stuff that really hits it’s stride live. Not that this is bad, but it feels sort of like seeing animals at the zoo.....wild and on stage I’m fairly sure is a far more impactful experience.

The second disc is Kill It All Away, another of Duncan’s bands, this one featuring guest vocal appearances from Jet (Sam Black Church), Keith Smith (C60/Anarchy Club) Johan Jenkins (Only Living Witness/Raw Radar War), Chico (Closed Casket) and Eman Pacheco. This one is an ep rather than the full length of disc one, but more than makes up for it’s short length with a scathing hardcore assault. It has more immediate impact and is definitely a few levels heavier than destruct-a-thon. No real complaints here...a very enjoyable burst of aggressive hardcore punk.

The last disc is Duncan’s spoken word disc....and if you need a good reason to track this down, you’ll find it here. While not in that great man’s stratosphere, you can feel a bit of a Bill Hicks vibe here channeled through hesher sensibilities.....glad to find that advertising was not misleading. Walking a frayed and swinging tightrope between traditional spoken word and straight out comedy, Duncan shifts fluidly from frantic and rabid verbal assaults to mid paced story telling to slower laid back musings. All of it holds the attention well and quite a bit of it is very funny, provoking anything from chuckles to guffaws. The material is as diverse as myspace, rednecks and Ramones, a Maiden, Motorhead and Dio concert and construction accidents. Unique and highly entertaining, you could do a lot worse than lend an ear to this.

All in all, being sold at $11.99 for three discs of material, this is quite a bargain and if you have a passion for hardcore (especially the east coast U.S. variety) and an ear for humorous spoken word you should seek this out..... - By Michael Ballue for Hellridemusic.com