Do you ever get that sinking feeling that the world is on a disastrous track to hell? No? Well, after listening to Profit Margin’s s/t anarcho punk ridden debut, you certainly will.

Profit Margin instills in the listener this fear in “You are What You Buy.” As the song’s title is yelled and consequently seared into your brain, you become convinced that your participation in consumerism is sending the earth to its demise.

With snarling wit, three-chord progressions, and critique of modern society, “Dis-Ease” has classic punk elements that are rooted in British punk of previous eras. Yet Profit Margin distinguishes themselves by injecting hardcore influences into this classic punk framework. This is especially prevalent in “Fear of Freedom” and “Cell Death” where the intense vocals creep out of the realm of the sharp, edgy punk into the more droning yells of the hardcore.

The album hits its breaking point on the fifth and final track, “What’s It For.” It’s as if all the restlessness and irritated unease with the world expressed in the previous songs reaches a climax, and then it breaks. All hell breaks lose. It makes for a punk tune saturated in complete disaster, paranoia, and anger.

This is true for the entire album. The overall mood is tense—like the world, humankind, and your mind are on the brink of absolute chaos. But if punk isn’t for prompting us to question society as we know it in overt, blaring, chaotic two-minute songs, then what could it possibly be for? In that sense, Profit Margin hit the nail on the head, pulling together an inspired, frustration and anger fueled debut.