Until this fall, Baltimore punk cornerstone Reptilian Records was on hiatus for nearly a year, during which time it closed its physical store on Howard Street, slowly shifted into a mail-order outlet, giving its label a rest. That is, until owner Chris X caught wind of this new band Sick Weapons--deciding after seeing a show to put the label back in action with the five-piece's debut record. Sick Weapons is that rare band that doesn't easily fit into any genre of music--it is, broadly, punk, but moored in shredding and garage clatter enough to keep rock 'n' rollers happy. For that matter, Sick Weapons has everyone from warehouse party kids to Ottobar old-schoolers to DIY punkers pretty happy and, like musical kin Double Dagger, excels at straddling Baltimore's varied music-making and -listening communities. Basically:, in another year, Sick Weapons will own this town.
