Have No Heroes were already featured on the pages of this webzine when we reviewed one of their records a while ago. This is a four piece melodic hardcore punk band from Riga, Latvia. We can almost safely call them Latvian Pennywise because that is the band of which their music reminds me the most. Not that they copied it, but with hardcore punk energy which bursts from the songs, speed, great vocal melodies and backing vocal harmonies and above all, great songwriting. This one contains an intro plus twelve songs of uplifting spirit, melodic skate punk hardcore and I enjoyed every single minute of it. These guys are also great musicians, there are couple of superb guitar solos and hooks on this beauty like in awesome ‘No Regrets’. Lyrics are smartly written and they are personal but also deal with scene, genre, there are also political themes if you read between the lines and these songs somehow give hope for better tomorrow. When I listen to this one, it is no holds barred, no philosophy, nineties style influenced melodic hardcore punk with Pennywise, Good Riddance and No Use For A Name immediately falling on my mind. It is so hard to tell some songs as highlights because album as a whole is fantastic, but I will try: ‘No Regrets’, ‘Funeral Of The Genre’, ‘Better Way’, ‘Divide And Conquer’, ‘Final Destination’, damn that is already almost half of the album. One of the best releases in this genre to come out this year.
NUFO are coming from Graz, Austria and this is their new release and it contains nine songs. NUFO are playing nineties styled melodic punk hardcore and if I must compare it to some band, it would be a mixture of No Fun At All and all those California’s bands we love, like Pennywise for example. That means fast songs, ultra melodic beautiful singer’s voice topped with backing vocal harmonies and superb songwriting. Lyrics deal with isolation, hysteria, dealing with personal problems in your head, keeping the faith and trying to stay normal in this crazy world but also with a touch of engaged politics, also humor and self irony too. I think some of the song themes were influenced with covid lockdown and some of the themes remind me of what I was thinking during that pandemic and I can totally relate to most of the lyrics on this album. My personal favorites are ‘Transparent Barriers’, ‘Hysteria’, also ‘Tear Gas’ and ‘Keep Your Faith’. Bandcamp version of the album also contain the lyrics, so it is a whole package, I recommend this one, since this is an awesome melodic hardcore punk album.
Croatian melodic hardcore punk veterans DEBELI PRECJEDNIK are back with their brand new full length album. This is by far one of my favorite bands in Croatian scene for more than 25 years now, also one of my all time favorite bands, so I am happy that the long wait is over and the album is out, the wait has been since 2016. There are twelve songs on this beauty some of them I have heard prior to this release on numerous gigs, like total hit single ‘Nema Me’, ‘Warzone’, ‘Misery Loves Company’ and tribute to late Ivan Antolić singer of Pičke Vrište, called ‘Pičke Ne Vrište’, which is also one of my personal favorites on this record. ‘Legica’ is similar and kind of continuation of band’s biggest hit ‘Farmersko srce’ and reminds of that song a lot. Debeli Precjednik continue with their vision of melodic hardcore punk, with some lyrics in Croatian, some in English, having a fine mixture of personal and political lyrics between the lines. Koca’s voice sounds better than ever and the band is tight, this being first full length album with Buda on guitar. But all that wouldn’t matter if there was no great songwriting and fantastic bunch of songs. Production of the album is strong and everything is in place. This is another great album by these legends and I am looking forward hearing some of the songs live again although I have been to this band’s concerts dozens of times. Superb album!
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 