Is this Oi-inspired metal, or is it metal-inspired Oi? Perhaps its NWOAHO - New Wave of American Heavy Oi? Whichever it is, it’s catchy and good, the way it should be. Catchy enough where was dancing around to it, and she generally hates the stuff I listen to! Thankfully doesn’t sound like a 2010’s version of a band pretending they have cockney accents or whatever, which I appreciate. I think I generally like Oi-adjacent music more than Oi itself, especially if it was released after like, 1985. Every song on this record is an ear worm - this band’s whole catalog is just incredible from start to end. Brandon’s vocals are great too - can we appreciate how versatile this dude is? From doom, to hardcore, to power violence, to oi, to heavy metal, he’s got it covered in the pipes department.
Lyrically this is not about working on the docks or boots & braces - instead, references to war, slain warriors, etc. Nothing specific, instead somewhat vague war content, which can leave a lot of room for interpretation, especially these days. I could see how some of the words or lyrics might be seen as dog-whistles because of that vagueness, if you were trying to fill in gaps, or pigeon-hole this band - given the Oi inspiration, along with some wolf / rune / viking iconography in artwork, it does not take much for some to jump to conclusions. It’s fair, I think most consumers of music now want to make sure they’re listening to good and decent stuff. That said, the same could be said about a million other bands, and anyone who draws that line is really reaching or hoping for something that isn’t there.
Mines a 2019 repressing on smoky vinyl (350).