The Exploited
The Massacre

In school and beyond, legendary wars have been fought between metalheads and punks. The former claimed that punk music lacked technicality, while the latter accused metalheads of being losers. However, over time, that line of fire that separated the two factions was crossed by both sides; many metalheads began to appreciate hardcore, and some punks started to listen to metal. Those battles finally ceased, and a treaty was signed, "music, regardless of the genre, is not denigrated as long as it gives you the right energy to break your bones at a concert", and everyone lived happily ever after, except for the power-epic legion destined for a future of living room battles with role-playing games. This whole unnecessary preface has been written to emphasize how much metal has opened up to punk themes and music, and how Hardcore has gradually become darker and harder musically.

A practical case: the Exploited!

The Exploited have always been quite hard and pounding since their inception. Their rhythms were characterized by grinding riffs and relentless drum tempos, but this did not set them that far apart from the standard of the Hardcore of the time. Their solos, for instance, have always been volleys of sparse pentatonics, the length of their songs no more than two and a half minutes, and their themes aggressive, anarchic, or protest-driven. In 1987 with "Death Before Dishonour," they had already become extremely aggressive, both musically and thanks to an ultra-professional recording and an amazing mastering. That thin line dividing metal and punk was not quite crossed as it happens in “The Massacre”.

Already in the choice of the album title, we find a significant differentiation with "The Massacre"! Very different from the ambitious titles and socially problematic tendencies of the past, we are no longer talking about "Death Before Dishonour", "Punk's Not Dead", "Troops of Tomorrow", no nothing of that, but simply a more impactful and direct title: the massacre....

But this is only the smallest and indeed debatable reason. To keep taking a wide perspective, I would like to start with the approach of singer Wattie Bunchan, yes, he has always been uniquely aggressive, but here it is exasperating; it seems he has gone completely mad, shouting like never before, abandoning the stadium chants that characterized the oi! side of the band, leaving no space for catchy tunes but only fast and direct choruses.

Yes, the themes remain in the Exploited style, against the authorities and the army, as you can well hear in "Dog Soldier" or "Boys In blue". Against religion with "Fuck Religion" or simply the classic depraved Exploited with "Porno Slut", but the length of the tracks becomes longer; instead of the classic two, maximum three minutes, here we have almost all the tracks hovering around four minutes. But the main aspect of the matter is the music: the guitars scratch like seminal thrash, the songs are riding, interrupted, and no longer marked by easy riffs, in "The Massacre" we find more particular refinements and well-crafted solos, not as simple as those of the past and a factor not to be underestimated: the use of guitar effects. Sometimes, the drums employ double bass and never stop pounding throughout the record. The recording is meticulously cared for, you do not hear errors or imperfections as Hardcore typically does. The sound from the speakers is atomic and from my point of view even too pumped.

The album is rich with excellent songs, and the adrenaline sparked by Bunchan's voice is unique; the tracks on this record all have their own energy, even if the stylistic change of the Exploited is clear compared to the early albums, I cannot criticize anything musically. However, being a lover of their past work, I must admit that "The Massacre" is of inferior quality; it is not enough for me to listen to furious music, and I no longer feel that urge to turn society upside down; I perceive more the desire to put money into the wallet. The Exploited have given us classics in their history, and I do not find in this album that track that gives me goosebumps like maybe "S.P.G.", "UK 82", or "disorder". It is strange, but with Hardcore, things have always worked opposite to other music, the more you try to improve, the less you feel that sincerity and freshness.

If you want to have all the Exploited albums, buy it, but if you want to approach the band, this record is not the best to consider.