When I read that War Against War featured members of Bong Cauldron and Nomad, I thought I knew what I was getting.
I’d seen the bands (they often toured together), and both liked – broadly speaking – to beat you into submission, slowly.
Then I put “No Change” on – and for the 1,234,047th time (approximately) in my life, I found that everything I knew was wrong.
I had this on my headphones. Opener “Burned” began with a “Paranoid” type riff in my left ear, then the drums in my right. And within about 30 seconds of this, if you want an easy, glib entrance point, then here it is: if Sabbath played punk.
That’s not quite it, either though. Because, as “You Against You” so neatly proves that this has a NYC hardcore flavour. Corky finds something of a Roger Miret thing, that’s for sure – and Jay pummels the drums on the track then there’s a real taste of the moshpit.
The breakdowns, though, are pure Helmet. Great big, meaty slabs and the lyrics: “when you choose, what do you believe? Waste your energy, or live free….” Seem to explain into the current mood.
There’s a real anger here. “Same Mistakes” burns with a real rage, and a word too for Lewis on guitar. He’s in fine form here throughout, but never better than on “Presence Of Mind” – which crackles with a real energy.
The last one, “Ignorance” begins with a slower riff, but then the drums thunder like the best thrash metal. They pound with a righteous fury: “If you were to meet, the man on the street,” spits Corky. “Would you ask yourself, are you living through hell?” – and the middle section is crushingly heavy. That it does all this in under two minutes is incredible.
“And now it’s understood, this worlds no fucking good” says its last line, and its somehow fitting that it ends without a silver lining. It doesn’t feel like there is one right now, and this record “made as a resistance to dickheads, by dickheads” has tapped into it perfectly.
Plus, if the last couple of weeks has proved anything it’s proved this: our dickheads are better than their dickheads and War After War are on our side for sure.
Rating 8/10
