Balaclava-
Shame 7” review
This is the epitome of dark,
dissonant, Tragedy-style D-beat. Even
though it is definitely styled after another band, this style is done only by a
few select bands, at least in a notable way.
The beginnings of these are usually pretty fast and direct, and then
slow to a mid-tempo pace and start using a two-guitar approach (as in the two
guitars sounding leagues apart from one another) as the singer barks out his
guttural anti-establishment phrases that come just a few words at a time. The riffs on this EP fucking crush, the drums
crash, and the bass bashes. The track
“To Those Who Glorify War” is one of the best D-beat songs since Tragedy’s
self-titled LP came out- it’s a fucking behemoth of a song, and the title/subject
matter is one seemingly untouched by other bands, as it addresses the adoration
of armed conflicts, be it by those who support it or those who constantly defy
it, but use the imagery of it regularly as an eye-catching appeal to the visual
senses; it makes one wonder if the intended goal of this sort of branding is
truly beneficial to the ultimate goal of an end to armed skirmishes. The rest of the lyrics still hit hard as
hell, but these are groundbreaking. “Fences”,
“Shame”, and “Discipline and Punishment” make up the rest of the tracks, sludge
and doom-laden crusty D-beat anarcho punk.
This is the sort of band that would open for Dystopia and surprise the
shit out of you. A damn fine EP, one of
the best D-beat slabs of wax I’ve heard in quite some time. Nab it.
-Aunty Social
