•
Rating: For those who are good connoisseurs of extreme music, the names of Woptime, Skruigners, and Cripple Bastards will need no introduction.
Well, the three groups have been brought together by Tube Records (the label producing Skruigners) for a live festival at the Babylonia in Ponderano on March 21, 2005. A CD was made from the evening, a true must for hardcore lovers. Listening to the record, at a decent volume, will give the impression of being in the midst of a storm and being tossed around mercilessly.
The concert starts with Woptime, a younger band from Turin compared to the other two, offering us hardcore tinged with metal and oi! with no musical and verbal refinement: pure violence. The guitars are powerful and raw, the drums are the usual whirlwind of rolls, rhythms pushed to the limit, and chilling double bass. But the winning weapon of Woptime is their singer, Saverio "Iena" Sgaramella, author of raw and fierce lyrics sung (or rather often spoken or shouted) with extreme violence amplified by his vocal timbre, a fearsome guttural and animalistic roar. No flaws, the Turin band's setlist flows smoothly reaching its peak in tracks like "Giustizia", "Fuoco", "Inferno sulla Terra", "Dove sei" and in the closing track, which reprises the opening riff of the album "Inferno Sulla Terra".
Then it's the turn of the Skruigners, who with a high level of sonic violence boast more precision and immediacy than Woptime. "Streghe" is perhaps the best track on the record, pure Skruigners style, bass and drums at full throttle, surgical guitars, and a harsh and cruel voice, the Skruigners' trademark. Hats off to the good Carlame, the band's drummer (and only original member) who holds his own behind cymbals and drums. A thrilling performance, no need for comments on tracks like "Cosa vi Aspettate", "A mani vuote", "Piombo e neve", "Rispetto", "200701", and, of course "Pezzi bui".
The Cripple Bastards make the extreme their banner, with a music not exactly hardcore, but grindcore with hc-punk tendencies. Their tracks last, in the best case, two minutes, but often don't even reach a minute. They are crazy splinters of insane fury, that do not remain well imprinted in the mind but deliver a strong shock. Once again, the drummer surpasses himself, while Giulio The Bastard, the singer, alternates growling with purely hc shouting. The guitar, which often is a continuous strumming of frantic chords, occasionally crafts precious riffs full of ruthless malice. Nevertheless, there are still great tracks like "Il sentimento non è amore", "1974", "Odio a prima vista", "Get out and Bite them", "Italia di merda".
In conclusion, it is a record that presents no musical innovation, nor special proposals, without virtuosity, without frills, only steeped in anger, sincere anger, not anger marketed to an audience that demands it as a target. There is no sophistication in the lyrics which are violent and uncompromising, stories of firsthand experiences in direct contact with the problems of living in a society like this. You can feel the presence of the dark, the slums, the suburbs, the decay in the notes of the three bands, whose no-compromise approach and sincerity and coherence united with the ability to play fast, hard, and wicked are undoubtedly noteworthy.
Loading comments slowly
