Arson Anthem
Insecurity Notoriety

The Arson Anthem is one of the many side projects of Phil Anselmo (Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual, etc.), formed in New Orleans in 2006 together with Mike Williams (Eyehategod) on vocals, Hank Williams III on drums (Superjoint Ritual), Collin Edgar Yeo on bass, and Anselmo himself on guitar. In 2010, they released their first full-length album "Insecurity Notoriety." It is an Hardcore/Crust album with Thrash metal influences that takes as a reference point the musical proposals of bands like Discharge, Black Flag, and other typical Hardcore groups from the '80s.

This album is a real loose cannon, composed of 17 tracks for a total duration of just 30 minutes, enough to daze anyone, thanks to its furious rhythms and the enormous amount of hate unleashed by these four guys.

I think it's useless to go into a track-by-track review given the extreme compactness and monolithic nature of this work, an uncompromising album that makes immediacy and sound violence its winning card, it needs to be listened to all in one go to grasp its essence, the sounds are characterized by a deliberately raw production aimed at recreating a sound with an '80s flavor. Be careful, though, we're not facing a simple revival lacking personality; quite the opposite. On one hand, there's the desire to recreate and pay homage to sounds that have made history in a certain type of extreme music, while on the other hand, there's the enthusiasm to rework them in a personal manner, trying to make them still current. What's astonishing is the passion and impetus with which it's performed, given that we're not dealing with a band of youngsters but with established musicians.

Among the other strengths of the album, there's Mike Williams' vitriolic voice that screams like a maniac from start to finish and the excellent guitar work of good old Anselmo, who manages to deliver schizophrenic and convulsive riffs like an industrial machine, immediately making a dent in the listener's mind, all supported by a blistering drum work. The most successful tracks, in my opinion, are "Foul Pride," "More Than One War", the "title-track," "Polite Society Blacklist," and "Death of An Idiot."

We are faced with a courageous and genuine platter that goes completely against the grain compared to today's compositions, characterized by increasingly crystalline and bombastic sounds with technically proficient musicians but simultaneously lacking personality and taste. After all, the criteria of judgment for most listeners have also changed, with many being more intent on precisely distinguishing every note, often overlooking the emotional and purely passionate side. It almost seems like Arson Anthem's intention is to remind us that music can still be a feeling, a sudden strike, a primordial urge without the need for justification. After all, would you find it useful to justify love at first sight?

This is what "Insecurity Notoriety" is: a work to be loved unconditionally or hated, there are no half measures.