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Rating: "The future is to be sought in those pools of black water, which seem dead but reflect the sky." Reading it like this, one might almost think of it as an updated version of the far more famous "nothing grows from diamonds, flowers grow from dung" by De Andrè. Regardless of various comparisons, it must be acknowledged that Kalashnikov, or Kalashnikov Collective if you prefer, have quite clear ideas, much like the good De Andrè, who spent a lifetime saying that he always had few ideas, but they were firm.
Formed in the mid-Nineties and grown within the social centers of northern Italy, today they are one of the most respected entities in the field, with several performances each year both at home and abroad. After many lineup changes, because, in true collective style, everyone is important but no one is essential, and many hours spent between studios and stages, the group has accumulated enormous experience as well as a long discography, divided as it is between albums, cassettes, splits, and EPs.
Musically, we are faced with a very varied hardcore punk, with various tracks constantly oscillating between aggressiveness and melodic openings, all supported by female vocals and omnipresent keyboards that complete a very personal and recognizable sound.
As for the packaging of the various CDs/LPs, a special mention must be made of the care given to the booklet graphics. Indeed, the intent to contextualize the lyrics is commendable, inserting long explanations related to the band's philosophy inside the albums, which in some cases evolve into real socio-political treatises, or accompanying the lyrics with complementary fantasy stories.
From a purely graphic perspective, on the other hand, the group uses various expedients.
Images taken from American comics of the Fifties, in which young lovers fully experience the plasticized happiness of their American way of life, are extracted from the original context to be placed alongside photos of wars, marching soldiers, and industrial cities blackened by smoke, all strictly in black and white, creating an unsettling effect for the observer: the smiling face of capitalism, behind the pretty blonde USA girl hides a monster. A picture is sometimes worth more than a thousand words. Because in the end, that is what Kalashnikov speak about in their lyrics, a world happily and perhaps unconsciously on the brink of the abyss, made of dwarfs and dancers, oppression, reaction, and a future perhaps even darker than the black columns of smoke rising from the chimneys on the cover. A way out? Love and passion, perhaps the only antidote to the standardized daily grayness.
Also nice is the idea of inserting, within the desolate urban landscapes just described, images taken from horror films of the Forties and Fifties, given the general filth only Frankenstein's monster might find it comfortable there. Or maybe not even him?
According to what is reported on their blog, this "The City of Last Fear" seems to be their last effort and for a couple of years now, you can find it for sale at their concerts. The price? For this 12", you decide, as well as for the rest of the catalog, free offer, no one imposes anything. Don't have money with you, but you still want to listen to the disc in question? You can download it for free from the Kalashnikov site, "no copyright, free to share": if it works for them, it's okay for everyone.
Finally putting the vinyl on the turntable, after the intro "Urban Violence", which already outlines the coordinates of the work, "Under the Axe of a New Fascism" explodes, a track that best presents the salient features of the Collective: syncopated rhythms, sharp guitars, a seductively desperate voice, and cold keyboards that give everything a touch of hallucinated loneliness, without forgetting the beautiful melodies that make the pieces easily recognizable and memorable. If the title track does nothing but reiterate what has just been said, the B-side of the record opens with "Siberia on the Roofs," perhaps the highest point of the EP, a track dedicated to the inherently precarious nature of social centers, places seemingly inhospitable and squalid but often reveal themselves to be true "secret gardens," places that, given evacuations and demolitions permitting, can indeed be brought back to new life, becoming intersections of experiences, hopes, and passions.
The album was recorded at the Occupied Vegan Villa in Milan, another quite well-known reality in the environment, and the excellent work done in this context must certainly be recognized, given the truly impeccable sound, clear evidence that some social centers can become a reference point not only for playing but also for recording one's music with professional results. Really excellent work, necessarily short, but certainly noteworthy, the result of years of experience and passion. The group is constantly on tour, the opportunities to see them live are not lacking and if there is some squat in your area, it is very likely that they are also on the concert schedule.
"The City of Last Fear":
Side A:1. Urban Violence2. Under the Axe of a New Fascism3. The City of Last FearSide B:4. Siberia on the Roofs5. You, at the End of the UnderpassKalashnikov:Milena, vocalsSarta, guitars and recordingPuj, guitars and graphicsAle, bassDon, keyboardsLisa, synthesizersRissa, drums
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