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Rating: June 14, Stadio Braglia in Modena: the completely unknown Gallows appear in Italy as supporters of Rage Against The Machine.
Led by a crazed, skeletal redhead completely covered in tattoos (the singer Frank Carter, a tattoo artist by profession), they make quite a scene on stage: quite a scene, considering that to get noticed they started a beer-can battle with the audience...
But that's nothing; during a live show in their homeland, England, the tattooed leader sustained such severe whiplash that doctors thought he'd been hit by a car. In short, the Gallows are certainly not quiet lads; on the contrary, they have earned a reputation for their "lively" performances.
The so-called "Punks from Watford" have only one album to their name, "Orchestra Of Wolves," indeed.
Self-produced, this album was released in 2007 through In At The Deep Records, then distributed in the US by Epitaph and in Europe by Warner Bros., well received everywhere by critics and audiences.
We are facing an album, in my opinion, quite unique, starting with the cover, almost an homage to the horror atmospheres of zombie B-movies: the material offered is not simple punk hardcore, but something that explores the most extreme paths the genre can offer, sometimes so furious it's unsuitable to be contained in a record.
Carter's voice is, indeed, always raucous and shrill, purely punk, but suitable to travel along with strident, hypertense, claustrophobic, violent, and brazen melodies: everything seems to come from the angriest live show in the world, almost a protest against the "containment" within a CD.
And so "Orchestra Of Wolves" flies by in a breath, as it is composed of twelve very fast tracks, no more than three minutes each (36 minutes in total album length), full of energetic guitar riffs, sudden tempo changes, multi-voiced choirs, and never static rhythms, in continuous evolution.
Notable among all are the apocalyptic "Come Friendly Bombs" and "Abandon Ship", the very angry "Six Years", the more melodic "Rolling With Punches", and the title track "Orchestra Of Wolves", also interesting for its lyrics (a rapist speaks about one of his carnal assaults).
Let us be clear, this album is certainly not excellent, but it is a real time bomb, incredibly interesting, to listen to and listen to again.
Bold.
[We're not the same ones you and me
If we were the same ones
I'll draw this knife across my throat and bleed it dry
- Come With Bombs -]
(It's my first review, please be kind!)
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Kill the Rhythm (02:39)
Kill the rhythm
Smash the beat
We're gonna party till we're dead on our feet
We don't fuck about
Say what we think
Wont stop till everyone screams
For the right only
There's a reason to be moving on the floor
For one night only
Leave your inhibitions at the door
For one night only
We ain't gonna fight no more
For one night only
We bring the party like no other before
We aren't here
To fucking fight
We just wanna party till the end of the night
We start the fires
And lose control
Burning down the stage at every fucking show
For the right only
There's a reason to be moving on the floor
For one night only
Leave your inhibitions at the door
For one night only
We ain't gonna fight no more
For one night only
We bring the party like no other before
To the rhythm
To the beat
Get Down
02 Come Friendly Bombs (03:32)
Black knuckles and broken teeth
Grey days and grey streets
Same old faces that same release
If this town had a name it would be defeat
So sick of waking up to white skies
Can't stand the look in everybody's eyes
They want to kick my fucking head in just to feel alive
Do you wanna go?
I wanna go
Do you wanna go?
Let's go
Black knuckles and broken teeth
I've got more fillings that butchers beef
We're not the same one's you and me
We're not the same
If we were the same one's
I'd draw this knife across my throat and bleed it dry
Black knuckles and broken teeth
I know your face from early last week
About eleven I was walking home
Down a fucking alley I was on my own
So sick of trouble from these hearts
Can't take my breathing in the fucking dark
Too bad this mongrel's got a bite worse than his bark
03 Abandon Ship (03:11)
Mayday Mayday
The captain lost control again
The fucking ship is breaking up
We're going down in flames
Mayday Mayday
Man overboard again
The sharks already circling
They only eat the brave
The SS Death lost everything
No one here can fucking swim
So baby, baby hold me tight
While I drown myself in you tonight
Mayday Mayday
The ship has hit the rocks again
This isn't going to fucking work
We're heading to our graves
Mayday Mayday
The captains lost his way we're sinking in the river sticks
No one can escape
Ladies and Gentlemen
May I have your attention please
This is the captain of your ship
I'm sorry we depart this way
You left me broken hearted
But I never loved you anyway
04 In the Belly of a Shark (02:41)
So here I lie
In the belly of a shark
So fucking cold and so fucking dark
So here I lie
In the belly of a shark
How the fuck did I get this far?
Now all I have to do
Is swim after you
Convince you to climb into
Cut yourself first
They can smell your blood
From forty miles away
They’ll be here in no time
And they can hear you cry
So here I lie
In the belly of a shark
So fucking cold and so fucking dark
So here I lie
In the belly of a shark
How the fuck did I get this far?
I’m gonna show you
Exactly what you mean to me
I’m gonna eat every man that you see
I’m gonna show you
Exactly what you mean to me
I’m gonna eat every man that you see
06 Rolling With the Punches (03:36)
I'm forever dragging my fucking feet
Despite the fact that I never sleep
And everyone in my fucking band
Is telling me that I owe them again
I'm going out of my fucking mind
Trying to find the words before I run out of time
Because I'm already losing all my friends
We send our messages when arguments end
We've been rolling with the punches and by now
Most other bands would have been knocked out
Trust me we ain't staying down
We won't rest We won't rest We won't rest
Until this record's out
I don't even know how we got this far
Writing half the lyrics in the fucking car
We don't practice we just play shows
That's how we fucking rock and roll
We've been rolling with the punches and by now
Most other bands would have been knocked out
Trust me we ain't staying down
We won't rest We won't rest We won't rest
Until this record's out
I am a hypocrite
I am the concrete around our feet
And even when I push us in
I'll find a way to drag us out again
08 Just Because You Sleep Next to Me Doesn't Mean You're Safe (03:04)
Pour some petrol
Through your letter box
Put all my memories
In an envelope
Then set it on fire
Then send it straight to you
When you get it
The least you could do
Is choke on the smoke
And let me breathe again
I know I never want to fucking see you again
I watched you burning
With the keys in my hand
You were screaming 'fucking let me go'
As you were turning black
The crowd go wild
And they signal applause
Well done for getting this far
Don't expect an encore when you
Choke on the smoke
Let me breathe again
Because I know I never want to fucking see you again
Goodnight sweetheart
Can you hear what I say?
I broke both your legs
You broke my heart today
You're lying in this bed
With your eyes tight shut
I'm lying next to you
Thank god I just woke up
09 Will Someone Shoot That Fucking Snake (02:28)
Something wicked this way comes
When i see it every night
You ain't a rockstar yet (you're dead)
You need some self-respect
You always were a fucking prick
Blackening her name
Screaming in her face
I'll fucking drown you in the rain
Will someone shoot that fucking snake
I've got a knife for you
To turn your heart from red to blue
The beating
I've got a knife for you
Engraved with the words fuck you
The bleeding
Something wicked this way comes
When i see it every night
You ain't a rockstar yet (you're dead)
You need some self-respect
You always were a fucking prick
Blackening her name
Screaming in her face
I'll fucking drown you in the rain
Will someone shoot that fucking snake
We've got a knife for you
You're fucked you can't get rescued
The pleading
We've got a knife for you
You're fucking dead when we catch you
The screaming
10 Stay Cold (03:07)
Watford town has gone and fucking let us down
We don't know the cunts who fucked us at the show
Our shit is gone and it ain't coming back
Five good men go broke while the rats get fat
We don't care if you're a boxer
Or if you're dads a heavyweight
We don't even fucking measure up
But we'll fight you if thats what it will take
Someone said a grand don't come for free
Apparently it does when you're a fucking thief
Back to square one
But we won't fucking come undone
And now we're on the prowl
This pack of wolves will hunt you down
Someone said a grand don't come for free
I heard different at the sportz academy
Don't think this time that you got away
Like every dog you'll have your fucking day
Seconds out round two
We'll set the wolfpack loose on you
11 I Promise This Won't Hurt (01:48)
Take these teeth,
All they do is fucking cause me grief,
They ain't working for me I can't even think.
Can't think, can't think, can't think, can't think.
When the lights go on,
I grip this chair I don't feel so strong.
Anything could happen it could all go wrong,
Go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong.
All those wasted nights,
All the times when I lost the fights,
Are right before my fucking eyes in print.
The figure on this fucking page,
Has wiped the smile right off my face,
Eight hundred pounds is a lot to pay when you're skint.
Take these teeth,
Just for a second I need some fucking relief.
They're keeping me awake and I can't sleep,
Can't Sleep, can't sleep, can't sleep, can't sleep.
Can you drain the blood,
I've swallowed so much I think I want to throw up.
Can't you see that I've had enough,
Enough, enough, enough, enough.
All those wasted nights,
All the times when I lost the fights,
Are right before my fucking eyes in print.
The figure on this fucking page,
Has wiped the smile right off my face,
Eight hundred pounds is a lot to pay when you're skint.
Can you drain this blood from my fucking mouth.
12 Orchestra of Wolves (04:42)
My name is Casanova
I'm basically a man
I have the head of a wolf
The appetite of an entire land
This song is going out to the girls
You're all looking fucking fine
Baby spread those shaking legs
Because I'm feeling fucking hungry tonight
I like to feed on broken hearts
There ain't no taste like lovers falling apart
If I offer to buy you a drink
Trust me when I say it's non-alcoholic
You're no good to me if you can't even speak
I don't want you passing out I want you sucking my dick
If I offer to buy you a drink
Trust me when I say it's non-alcoholic
I want you to wake up and remember my name
When you're washing my cum off your fucking face
My name is Casanova
I'm basically a man
I have the head of a wolf
The appetite of an entire land
This song is going out to the girls
You're all looking well buff
I'm sick of all this long term shit
I just wanna fuck
My name is Casanova
I'm nothing but a beast
Baby the way you're shaking those hips
Has got me ready for a fucking feast
This song is going out to the girls
I want to feel your body close against mine
Why waste time with conversation
When we can fuck for the rest of our lives
The hardest thing you'll ever learn
Is just to love and be loved in return
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