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Rating: The fusion of two genres as powerful and energetic as punk and metal is (in my very personal opinion) one of the most exhilarating things to have happened in the music scene of the '80s. In this specific case, the new wave of British punk (better known as UK 82), decidedly faster, more frenetic, and more violent than its predecessor from '77, combined with typical metal riffs and sometimes brief solos, gave birth to one of the most important bands in the punk scene ever. And if that weren't enough, it's one of the bands responsible for the birth of thrash metal, given that various bands like Metallica, Slayer, Sepultura cite their name among their influences.
G.B.H, or Grievous Bodily Harm, an acronym used in the English legal system to indicate assaults.
In 1982, the "Punk Junkies" released the best work (up to now) of their career, this "City Baby Attacked By Rats" which without a doubt can be considered a milestone of punk; lyrics that, like no other, support a punk that's as speeding as it is mean, from the sharp irony of "Sick Boy" (I see schoolgirls everywhere / short skirts and pigtail hair / but why do I have to suffer for being a gym and slip lover?) to the foul chauvinism of "Slut" (I want you for your bust / and now I want a night of luxury / slut, dirty f**king whore), from the anger over young deaths in wars in "Gunned Down" (just a kid will now be / gunned down gunned down / feeling like a stone in a war of their own) to the fierce critique against a non-existent God in "The Prayer for a Realist" (there's no one up there, there never was / there's too much suffering for him to be an almighty power, a heavenly being).
The major historical tracks of G.B.H are right in this album, from the already mentioned "Sick Boy", "Maniac" to the title track, the band's true anthem. As already mentioned, an angry punk supported by the frank and harsh voice of the great Colin Abrahall and the essential metal hints offered by guitarist Colin Blyth; both characteristics are exalted in the last track of the album, "Bellend Bop": here is where the metal-leaning guitar unleashes the most, with scattered solos from the initial intro and then continuing between one verse and another; here is where Colin's voice is crazier than ever, even letting himself go to high notes and screams like a real mental freak; and all of this for the beauty of more than 5 minutes, a truly rare thing in a punk album. In short, an album that stands among the top of the excellent hardcore production of the '80s, and that will inspire several punk groups in the years to follow.
What makes it even more remarkable is the fact that to this day the band retains 3/4 of the original lineup and continues to perform live, at excellent levels, across America and Europe, despite the average age of the members having reached over 40.
A starting point for any punk neophyte, an essential album in the collection of genre lovers.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Sick Boy (02:29)
I'm strapped into my bed, I've got electrodes in my head.
My nerves are really bad, it's the best time I've ever had.
I'm a sick boy and there's no cure.
I'm a sick boy there should be more.
But I'm happy the way I am, like a sardine in can.
People taking notes, people in white coats.
I see school girls everywhere, short skirts and pig-tailed hair.
But why must I suffer .. for being a gym slip lover ?
04 Slut (02:29)
I wanted you cause of your bust .
And now I want a night of lust.
Can't wait around here anymore.
So take me home you dirty whore.
Slut, slut ..
Dirty bitch
I've had too many pints of poison,
now I wanna try your pants on.
I don't care if you're really crude,
I wanna see you in the nude.
Suppose you think it's fun to. tease.
Spread around social disease
Don't care how many you have had.
Just lie down I want it bad.
You think you look pretty cute.
Black and shiny diving suit.
High heels with a nine inch spike.
Something about you I know I like.
05 Maniac (02:08)
He'll be buzzing in your head, when you're long gone.
Fever burning, stomach churning he can take you on.
Maniac, he's a maniac and he's on the loose.
A wild eyed maniac seeks you out, he wanted some revenge.
A man obsessed, a man possessed he'll get you in the end.
He can read all your thoughts so don't run for cover.
There's aftermath in his path, he's gonna maim another.
Your face will turn a ghostly white as he comes into view.
To slice you up is not enough, he must disfigure you.
06 Gunned Down (02:32)
An easy job but it went wrong, I could not understand.
But how could they stop me with this magnum in my hand ?
Just a kid now he always will be.
Gunned down gunned down.
Fell like a stone in a war of his own.
It can blow a hole in a steel door it can blow a hole in you.
It can blow the guts out of any cop, but then what would I do ?
The blood is spilt it burns my eyes a pain I cannot bear.
I'm lying in the gutter crying in despair.
So I've failed in my quest of crime my one and only vice.
Gunned down by a sniper, for trying to improve my life.
08 City Baby Attacked by Rats (02:32)
The memory lingers on when you were the same as us.
Three months old a child, still you lived off love and fuss.
City baby, city baby, city baby attacked by rats.
Residing in a squalid place, it can't be too much fun.
Your brain is getting eaten away by the rat living in your skull.
A mutant at the age of one, a human rodent cabbage.
It's hard to think a tiny thing can do that much damage.
10 Passenger on the Menu (02:47)
They shocked the world cause they wanted to live.
They had no food, no alternative.
Lost in the snow weak in the mind.
Starving and cold ate their own kind.
Had no choice, lost and alone.
Eat the flesh, spit out the bone.
Malnutrition was setting in.
They needed protein and a will to win.
Cannibalism the only way ..
the logical answer to live another day.
A code of conduct they must go by.
No sign of help coming from the sky.
How much longer can they survive ..
with only human flesh to keep them alive ?
11 Heavy Discipline (02:08)
The adrenaline flows as the shadow grows.
Footsteps clatter and my teeth chatter.
They're here again to administer.
Heavy discipline, is everyone listening ?
Heavy discipline, no one should be listening.
You'll get a gut feeling as they send you reeling.
You'll feel the heat as they knock you off your feet.
There's no escape .. from this social rape.
You've gotta pay, being young today.
So the pressure's on and the freedom's gone.
The line gets thin with all this discipline.
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By g.g.junior
City Baby Attacked by Rats is an absolute masterpiece.
The guitars sound like musical electrical discharges, they play fast riffs but with a unique touch.
