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Following a debate on social media in relation to the health of our beloved metal scene in the 90’s, it got us thinking about whether things were really as bad as it seemed. Granted, alot of big names were swimming in a sea of mediocrity – no need to name names as we all know the culprits – and it was also when that be-capped berk Fred Durst and the risible Limp Bizkit came to prominence. However, the 90’s also saw the release of some all time classics as well as some unsung great albums from bands that have seemingly disappeared into the ether.

One such band was Pulkas. This bunch of miscreants hailed from London and featured Rob Lewis on drums, Jules McBride on bass, Martin Bourne on guitar and vocalist Luke Lloyd. Signed to Earache after only a handful of gigs, the band released one album, 1998’s Greed, with Colin Richardson handling production duties.

Compared to much of the 90’s output, Greed has aged surprisingly well and hasn’t dated anywhere near as much as the likes of One Minute Silence et al. Quite a bit of credit for this should go to the aforementioned Colin Richardson who crafted a monstrous sounding album.

The sound of Jules McBrides bass alone was enough to liquify bowels at a hundred paces, and when combined with the heavy as fuck grooves provided by guitarist Martin Bourne, Pulkas delivered one hell of a fearsome racket. Star of the show though was undoubtably Luke Lloyd who delivered a performance of barely controlled rage. For the duration of the album the man whispered, howled and roared his way through each track with the kind of bug eyed intensity that conjured imagery of ruptured organs and strained aneurysms!

However, performances alone do not a great album make, what is required is memorable songs and fortunately for Pulkas they had a bucketful of them! From “Loaded” and “Rubber Room” to the closing “Close To The Enemy”, Greed is an album of catchy, hook filled tunes that live long in the memory. As a comparison, think Adrenaline era Deftones, minus the rapping.

Listening to Greed now, you hear a hungry young band taking on the world and not giving a shit about the consequences. Unfortunately, this was to be the only album Pulkas recorded….but it is one to savour.

If you are the proud owner of this fine 90’s album, do yourself a favour and dig it out, for old times sake eh!

Also in this series:

Resurrections [1]: Handsome – Handsome (1997)