Short Fuse from Rome, Italy are in no way strangers to the pages of this zine, because I reviewed their last release, also featured their single when they signed with New Age Records.
Well, here is the new album. What do we have here? 7 songs of harsh and metallic influenced hardcore, but with also street punk influences and melodies in the guitar work, so it all sounds brutal and at the same time energetic and epic. This is what we called in the nineties new school hardcore haha with all those metallic moshing parts and harsh screaming vocals which fit perfectly to the songs. Lyrics are personal but somehow while I listened to the music and followed the lyrics I find them uplifting and inspirational to continue fighting with all my guns blazing, so to say. My personal favorites on this one are In Me, Still Counting, I’m Coming Back. Good one if you love your hardcore done this way.
One thing must be true, Paul McKenzie never quits and continues his celtic punk legends The Real McKenzies with so many line-up changes, sudden and less sudden and here is the new album out with Fat Wreck Chords. I must admit that I have never been a great fan of celtic punk and all that folk punk influenced music but I must also admit that this band is funny as hell to see live and raise some hell and drink something to their songs and music. This time, they bring 12 songs that continue in the vein of their previous couple of albums, meaning melodic punk with celtic punk, topped with recognizable Paul’ s voice and some really nice harmonies in choruses and backing vocals, some really great songs and some boring and not really good songs. The ones that I found great are My Heart’s in the Highlands, The Green Hills of Tyrol and Swansea Town with guest performance by Brenna Reid. Nothing special but okay in all.
When I listened to the singles that announced this album, I sensed that it could be something great. I was wrong, it is fantastic! Santa Cruz, California’s legendary skate punks released their fourth full length album and it contains 13 songs of which one is an instrumental intro and I just can’t decide which one is better. This is a lesson in melodic hardcore punk. Fast and simple, with superb vocal and backing vocal harmonies, great emotional lyrics and songs you wished you have written them yourself. Some guitar parts sound almost like they are tuned to Swedish Gothenburg death metal style, yes I am weird but I heard that, most in an instrumental called Putrefaction of Trust. There are also some more gentle atmospheric parts like awesome Judgment Day, one of my personal favorites. Although it is hard to say which ones, I will say that Violent Faith, The Sacrifice and Ghost are my favorites. This is one of the top five melodic punk releases this year.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 