God Bullies
War On Everybody

Perhaps I am not the right person to talk about the God Bullies, but I will try anyway!

The band in question was founded in Michigan around the mid-80s thanks to the singer Mike Hard. The result was a dark and feral punk-dark. Nick Cave, The Cramps, and Sonic Youth miraculously found a sound synthesis in the notes of these crazy social protestors with an apocalyptic approach.

The first albums were recorded for Amphetamine Reptile but, due to disputes and disagreements of all sorts, Hard and company decided to move to the acclaimed Alternative Tentacles stable. Indie label, for those who don't know, founded and managed by a certain Jello Biafra.

After releases such as the self-titled debut and "Dog Show", this "War On Everybody" was published in 1991. A mature and seminal album that, perhaps, someone might remember one day.

With the God Bullies, not only is it difficult to see glimmers of light... but even taking a breath of relief proves to be excessively strenuous! Claustrophobic compositions, oppressive, full of painful riffs and guitar feedback. Hard's voice, always ready to point fingers at everyone and everything, expresses itself in baritone and decidedly low tones.

The God Bullies have never been an "easy" group, nor a commercial gimmick to scare and/or excite Western kids. The God Bullies were a fully operational war machine, a war machine that never compromised with anyone and always ready to reject everything that was trendy or fashionable.

By listening to songs like "Book Report Time", "I Want to Kill You" or "Peace And Love" you will understand what I mean.

Abrasive lyrics, centered around themes such as sex, religion, death, and the abuse of power perpetrated by institutions against the marginalized. Not a "militant" band, at least I think, but certainly a formation attentive to the political and social scenarios of our time.

The indifference of the snobbish "alternative" audience, the success of grunge and crossover, combined with good Mike's intransigence, quickly overshadowed the already little-known fame of the band.

With "Kill The King", an album not particularly inspired and released by Alternative Tentacles, the Bullies withdrew from the scene.

What to do? Should we perhaps shed many bitter tears? No! Let's listen, conscious of the tremendous delay, to these masterminds and enjoy what they once managed to produce in almost complete indifference.