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Extreme Noise Terror, as everyone knows, have been one of the most important bands in the crust-core/grind field, although they've always been overshadowed by more famous groups such as Napalm Death, Carcass, or the immense Brutal Truth. The group, led by Dean Jones, was formed in January of the distant 1985 when they released their first CD, "Radioactive," which soon became a symbol of "Chaos U.K. crust-core." From there, a series of works developed, including "Phonophobia," "Retro-Bution," and "Damage 381," culminating in "Being And Nothing" in 2001, undoubtedly the heaviest and most grind-oriented album of the band.
But let's get to this "Retro-Bution," released in 1995, which also brought a change in the lineup, with the addition of a second guitarist. It's quite a heavy album, with fast, short, sincere songs marked by a raw and incredibly wild style. Of course, in a crust-core record, you can't talk about the technical level of the members; here, what matters most is the message of the lyrics, politically committed and never trivial, ranging from the dreariness of life ("Conned Through Life") to racism ("Human Error"), from too many animal killings ("Murder") to Third World problems ("Third World Genocide"). It is obvious, then, that it's all a matter of expressiveness and style, which will probably make the more refined tastes turn up their noses, but it's also true that the social distress represented by the lyrics does not need to be elegant and refined. Despite this, all the songs have a nice melodic feel that engages throughout the 14 tracks of the album: tracks like "Raping The Earth," "Bullshit Propaganda," "Lame Brain," and "Murder" have become band classics. The best song is probably "Subliminal," the longest on the CD (4:14 minutes), alternating very fast parts with slightly slower ones, ending with a nice distorted guitar effect in the last 14 seconds. The tracks are generally very short, around 1-2 minutes long, for a total duration of a mere half hour. The only flaw of "Retro-Bution" is that there is not a great variety in the compositions (except "Subliminal"), which can make the work a bit repetitive but certainly does not reduce its value.
In conclusion, "Retro-Bution" is a great album and especially fundamental for the group, which will achieve major stylistic maturation with "Damage 381" and the great "Being And Nothing."
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
09 Murder (01:59)
450 millions animal are murdered in Britain every year
To be shoved down your throat and shat out of your arse
Murdaaaargh
450 millions animal are murdered in Britain every year
To be shoved down your throat and shat out of your arse
Animals to be killed for pleasure
Murdered at the consumers leisure
Slaughtered for meat in their fucking abattoirs
Murdaaaargh
Pneumatic bolt shot deep in the head
Splittering bones and gushing blood
Yet you still support this insane slaughter
Brainwashing adverts on T.V.
Cover up the reality and never shown the pain and torture
12 Conned Through Life (01:30)
Your life is a stagnant pool of shit
And if you don't want to drown
Then you have to eat it...
From birth to death
You're conned through life
Is living your life a waste of time? (No)
And if you chose to swallow their shit
It will poison you so much
You'll wish you had drowned at birth
13 Deceived (02:09)
The way I see it
Just ain't your way
You won't listen
To what I have to say
I won't tolerate
The things you want me to see
Say you're here to help
But you just fuck me.
No more lies and deceit
Its not our fault
We are this way
We all have our views
And different things to say
You judge me, I judge you
Nothing will change
What are we to do?
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