Kung Fu Killers

The Kung Fu Killers are to hardcore punk what the Wu-Tung Clan is to hardcore rap: a group that employs a lot of martial arts imagery and obviously has a thing for Asian martial arts films of the '70s. In fact, the Kung Fu Killers' EP Game of Death is named after one of the late Bruce Lee's '70s films. But the Killers don't sound anything like the Wu-Tung Clan or any other hip-hop group; its angry and forceful music is pure, unadulterated punk. Although the Killers were formed in the early 2000s, the band is a throwback to the American punk bands of the late '70s and early '80s. Classic Los Angeles bands like Black Flag, the Germs, and the Circle Jerks are prominent influences; the Killers also have a lot in common with the Dead Boys (one of the best-known Midwestern punk bands of the late '70s) and combustible Boston outfits such as the F.U.'s, Decadence, Jerry's Kids, and the Freeze. The Killers don't get into punk-pop or emocore, and they aren't heavily influenced by British punk, but they have a recognizably American approach to punk. All five members of the Killers have pseudo-Asian aliases, including lead singer Yung Mainiac, lead guitarist Chow Mainiac, rhythm guitarist Lo Mainiac, bassist General Tzo Wat, and drummer Hung Lo. Press releases that were sent out in 2002 did not reveal their real names, although they did state that the punks had been members of Christian Death, Slap of Reality, Doom Patrol, Crimson Gash, and Electric Frankenstein. In the early 2000s, the Killers signed with TKO Records, a small, Richmond, VA-based indie that called itself "the Hardest Working Label in Punk" (as opposed to the Hardest Working Man in Show Business — the name used to describe the Godfather of Soul, James Brown). Recorded in 2001, the Killers' six-song EP, Game of Death, contains original material as well as covers of Black Flag's "Room 13" and the Misfits' "I Turned Into a Martian."