Legendary street punks Total Chaos are back with their new studio full length album and it is a blast! There are 12 songs on this beauty and while it is not ferocious as first two albums ‘Pledge Of Defiance’ or ‘Patriotic Shock’ back in the days it blew me away how brutal and harsh this album is. There is trademark harsh vocals by singer Rob Chaos who founded this band in 1989, so next year there will be 35th birthday for these guys. Considering the music, Total Chaos play street punk, mainly fast and strong with some punk rock mid tempo anthems thrown in for good measure like ‘No Peace In The City’, but for me real beauties of this album are fast street punk anthems like ‘Street Punx’, ‘Rise Up’ or ‘I Will Not Break’. This band plays hardcore punk but there are some blistering almost thrash metal influenced guitar solos courtesy of guitarist Shawn Smash, so I think the ideal tour pack for Total Chaos would be The Exploited, The Casualties, Acidez and similar bands. Lyrics deal with war, pollution, staying strong, street life, against nationalism….so all the right themes in the right places. This is not their best album, but I would put it right there above between top three albums after above mentioned first two albums. Great album by legendary band!
‘Questi Danni‘ is the new album by the italian emopunk band Monteluna, an energetic whiplash of nostalgia, a smile at one’s adolescence and a few band-aids to put on the scratches it left behind.
A short record that always sounds fast, hurried like a student late under the ultimatum of the school bell. In the run we move from more limpid midwest emo-style moments to straighter passages borrowed from the 2000s school of Italian punk. A work with which the band has tried to find its own style but above all its own balance between the instinct towards a rough and edgy immediacy and the need to dig into memories in order to tell a sincere story.
‘Questi Danni‘ (These Damages) because one does not want to romanticize the past or get lost in nostalgia, but because one knows that every wound, every mistake, every scrape on the knee falling off the bike has contributed to making us the people we are. The album imagery consists of yellowed photos in which we barely recognise ourselves in order to remember and learn from the best and worst moments. The record will be released in a limited edition tape by the independent labels We’re Trying Records(USA) andStray records(AT).
The day has finally arrived when we can unleash a new song and video from MakeWar! “Not Today” is a rallying cry for those when life gets super tough and staying positive feels impossible. It’s the type of song meant to be performed live and with friends screaming at the top of their lungs, celebrating togetherness. If you’re traveling to Gainesville, FL, for FEST, you can hear this beast in the flesh! If you haven’t been growing your beard out for this event, you can watch the video or stream the song on any digital platform! Next, get the lowdown of what the song is about from vocalist and guitarist Jose Prieto below:
‘Not Today’ serves as an anthem for those times when life becomes overwhelmingly daunting, and hope appears distant. It serves as a reminder that even during our bleakest moments, we can nurture a spark to ignite a fire, providing comfort and empowerment. ‘Not Today’ reminds us that we are all loved, strong, and united as we sing together for ourselves and for all our friends who left us too soon.
KRAYKULLA-WEBZINE 