The Bill Bondsmen are pissed off

The Bill Bondsmen are not happy gentlemen. Not happy at all. Just one look at their faces is enough to confirm that there's no small amount of barely suppressed rage boiling just beneath the surface. Of course, that's the way it should be for a Midwestern hardcore band. History, in the shape of Negative Approach and the Necros among others, has proven that, if there's anything this part of the country does better than most, it's that combination of art and anger at its most pure. Take a gander around Detroit, the landscape reflects that.

There's plenty to be pissed off with in Michigan. Those lucky to have employment undoubtedly know others who're aren't lucky. A high foreclosure rate is a foregone conclusion now, crime is rife, and some in a position of power never stop amazing us how intent they can be about abusing it. Pay any amount of attention, and it'd be easy to allow that rage to manifest itself in a destructive way.

Not the Bill Bondsmen, five Detroit-based men into their 30s who are turning that aggression into some of the dirtiest, most in-your-face hardcore punk rock heard in recent times.

On the surface, their sound is straightforward, boot-to-the-head hardcore. Vocalist Tony Bevaque is a crimson-faced disciple of Black Flag's Henry Rollins and Negative Approach's John Brannon. However, there's a craft to guitarist Amado Guadarrama's playing that lends a subtle groove rare to this genre of music outside of Poison Idea or Void, as heard on any of their six singles and their 2008 debut album, Swallowed By the World. The Bill Bondsmen is what happens when teenagers don't outgrow a sort of accidental nihilism — rather, it festers inside of them and erupts all over their audience.

Live, the Bill Bondsmen are a machine. Unrelenting and unforgiving, Bevaque will spend the set with one foot on the edge of the stage, screaming at his crowd like a deranged politician. It's an impressive sight and, with song titles such as "If You Want a Picture of the Future (Imagine a Boot Stamping on a Human Face Forever)", this band genuinely has something to say.

Initially, the interview is a fairly intimidating experience. While this writer sits on a sofa, the rest of the band surrounds him, pacing like a pack of wild dogs. Get them talking though, settled, and they quickly reveal themselves to be big old pussycats, a switch that's like the Incredible Hulk in reverse.

The band's rehearsal space, with its black ceilings and red walls, is decorated with a variety of posters, including the Clash and Attack of the 50 Foot Woman. A huge, beautiful bull terrier called Cuda (short for Barracuda) jumps around the room, panting ...

The band, completed by bassist Rob Dziak, drummer Mark Sanchez and guitarist Jeff Arcel, are down-dressed unspectacular. With black T's, plaid shirts and beanie hats, they could be about anyone with a fist around a Pabst at Small's in Hamtramck on any given night. But that's kinda the point. It was while DJing at that Hamtramck venue in 2003 that Bevaque and Guadarrama met. Mutual musical influences were acknowledged and, with the addition of Sanchez shortly afterwards, the Bill Bondsmen were born.

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