Charged G.B.H
City Baby Attacked By Rats

THE REVIEW

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.