A surge in knife crime in my home city of London has been an unfortunate byproduct of the mayorship of Sadiq Khan. However on a more positive note its also the name of a group of raucous lads from Birmingham (UK), a city which has spawned some legendary artists such as Black Sabbath, Napalm Death, Godflesh, Scorn and er, UB40. Will Knife Crime rank amongst these greats, only time will tell.
A trio, the band comprise of Geordie Blake – Guitar/Vocals, Sam Bayley – Bass and John Maycroft on Drums. Bare Racket their fourth release, follows 2022's Brain Gone, 2020's Split Milk and the debut Shoulda Bloody Known/Remove The Heart debut single. The band have also toured with some fairly well known names such as Girls in Synthesis, Drug Church and Going Off. Finally, when someone as talented as Tim Wyskida (Big Idiot God/Khanate/Insect Ark) is singing your praises you must be doing something right. So let's find out for ourselves shall we?
'Beat Them' certainly doesn't beat around the bush, from the off it feels like you are being kicked repeatedly in the face. The band have some serious musical chops and you start to see why Wyskida would be so liberal in his praise. This is classic 80's Crossover and immediately names such as Excel, Leeway and Wehrmacht come to mind along with more contemporary reference points such as Municipal Waste and Iron Reagan. This is so much fun and a perfect way to kick things off. 'Break Yr Fall' still maintains the pace, though leaning more towards a Bay Area Thrash sound and outfits such as chaotic party monsters Exodus and the more technically accomplished Testament. Tinges of Grindcore ala Brutal Truth also make themselves known while the Bass here proved particularly impressive and reminiscent of Tony Choy's work on Atheist's sophomore album Unquestionable Presence, what with its Jazzy Prog flavourings.
'Built to Warp' sounds evil, Slayer style evil Hell Awaits/Reign In Blood era especially with the despairing Tom Araya style Vocal howls. This is vicious stuff and you are literally shown no mercy (Slayer pun intended), as such it blows elder statesmen such as Metallica out of the water, exposing them for the has beens they are. Very cool and with a sound that makes me nostalgic for my youth when I was first discovering Metal. 'Hole in Your Throat' starts on a mellower note with a brief Classical style introduction before the band explode out the gate once more. Maybe its me but I definitely detected a Progressive Voivod influence, to forge one of the album's more experimental tunes. A change of style was required to prevent my attention from potentially wandering, which the band duly delivered. 'Nuke the Palaces' has more Post-Hardcore and Math-Rock elements to it, winding riffs and parts that bring me back to bands such as At The Drive-In when they were at their peak. I'm sure the band mentioned Propagandhi somewhere along the line and while not a fan of that whole Skate-Punk/Fat Wreck Chords scene, 'See It Thru' at least adds a little heaviness and much appreciated grittier edge to proceedings. Pretty darn good truth be told. 'Swarms' is an interesting mix of Death-Metal and Melodic Hardcore. Obituary meets Down By Law? Perhaps, it makes for a damn fine album closer whatever your interpretation.
So there you have it, seven tracks that manage to pack not only a punch but also a fair bit of musical variety despite its short running time. A fun release and a worthwhile investment of your time fo' sure.
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