The new full length studio album by Good Riddance is out with Fat Wreck Chords and I listened to the record and reviewed if for our zine.
After returning from eight year hiatus with Peace In Our Time in 2015., this new record is ninth studio full length for the band. When the first note plays and the drums start to thunder what immediately comes to mind, meaning ear is another fine job with the sound done by legendary Bill Stevenson. Every record he does sound better and more better, I don´t know how he manages to do it, but the sound is crystal clear, yet it doesn´t lose any of the ferocity of hardcore punk.
What I also love about the new record is the continuation of melody in the song structures, it seems to me like the band decided to go into more melodic hardcore waters while writing songs and it nostalgically brings me back to the legendary first three albums being a milestone in my growing up in the scene. But, don´t be afraid, there are still hardcore short rapid fire outbursts on the new record like fantastic Rapture. The title of the album is significant, because of the political situation in their country, and also the world, this band has a lot to say in their songs. The musicianship is tighter than ever, Russ Rankin delivers fantastic vocal performance and lyrics both in fast anthemic songs like one of my favorites being No King But Caesar which I listened for at least five times in a row, also slower songs like Wish You Well. It is hard to highlight songs from this record, because all of the songs are just fantastic and make you wanna listen to the album again and again. The whole material delivers an aural impact on the listener and maybe some would say this band repeats itself on the albums, but that is just not true. This is a tour de force in melodic hardcore with a strong political stance done by one of the best bands in the genre. Surely the favorite for melodic hardcore punk record of the year 2019.
10/10
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 