As of late the newly thriving UK punk scene has been heading in a different, heavier direction. Along with the anarchic lyrics and careless abandon for any noticeable melody, UK punk has also been injected with a high dosage of metal. This can be heard in the latest offerings from Blackhole, The Plight and the St. Alban quintet Your Demise.
Your Demise’s latest album Ignorance Never Dies is a head-on collision between Comeback Kid and Hatebreed which culminates in some of the angriest and most brutal hardcore punk to come out of Southern England. The intro to the album is reminiscent to that of the noise The Ghost of a Thousand produce and builds up intensely before crushing straight into Burnt Tongues. Being their first single from the album it had to show the public what sort of racket they have been making, and they don’t disappoint. A well-structured blast of thrash metal and hardcore punk which often goes off on a tangent of heaviness but comes smashing back to its roots.
Ignorance Never Dies though isn’t just your average hardcore punk album, it includes a number of odd tracks and interludes to confuse and entice the reader. The first interlude entitled Hypochondriac sounds like a failed Aphex Twin track. Another anomaly is the dub track about halfway through (yes you read that correctly). I’m not sure how many members of the UK punk faithful are aware of Lee Perry or King Tubby, but obviously Your Demise are looking to broaden their fanbase. It’s much heavier than the likes of Lee Perry and provides a massive change of pace amidst the fast-paced tracks preceding it. The last of the non-punk tracks included on the album is the jungle/breaks fused Great Shape. Possibly influenced by other local boys Enter Shikari, this track is three minutes of breaks that is basically unnecessary. An interlude would have been fine, but it wears incredibly thin after a while.
Despite these random tracks Ignorance Never Dies contains some punk gems. Songs such as Dreaming of Believing and TF which are fuelled with great chugging riffs, blasting drums and some of the hardest most ballsy vocals to be heard in a long time. Throughout the album George Noble’s (who has now left the band) screaming pushes the music onward, feeling more than just angst but some real passion in his lyrics. Admittedly some of the choruses are heavily reliant on swearing, but we’re all adults here it’s not going to offend anyone. The only downfall with the album is that after a while it begins to sound quite samey, only a few songs really stand out whereas the rest fade away into the ether.
Bottom Line
An interesting blend of metal and punk have caused Your Demise to create some great songs, but it simply doesn't stand out enough. There's a few really good tracks, but nothing worth mentioning more than once. However you can guarantee they put on an awesome live show!
I have a feeling that I’ll be getting a UK music education being on this site. :D
December 24, 2009 at 19:35
We certainly hope so, but feel free to bring all the good stuff from the US to us also.
December 27, 2009 at 14:00 OneMetal Team Member
I will have to!
December 28, 2009 at 18:03