Born Against - Rebel Sound of Shit and Failure [Vermiform] (CD)

Boy these guys sound pissed

By Benjamin Daniel Cline  Oct 21, 1999

Those are the words my roomate used to describe Born Against when he heard me playing them, and nothing really sums it up better than that. To add a personal note of to give you some Idea of the mind of the person who writes this: I hate the recent m...etal hardcore trend which exists in the punk rock scene today, whether its the tendancy toward straight edge which many of these bands exhibit or if its just simply the music, I don't typically enjoy it. That said when I first listened to this album, I had a bit of a bad reaction at first, expecting fast traditional hardcore, it was a bit hard for my virgin ears, and sometimes the guitars sounded low enough that they may have approached the dreaded "drop d" which chills me to the bone, for personal reasons. I moved past this initial apprehension though and took the time to read the lyrics sheet, and that is what sets this album apart, some of the most amazing, truly shocking(not shocking as in offensive, but shocking as in making you question so many things you believe) lyrics I have ever heard. They don't just shout "Fuck your religion" they tell you why they hate it, and it actually makes sense, it doesn't sound like a 13 year old yelling how much he hates Christianity because his mom is making him go to church on sunday, it sounds like an intelligent mind, truly explaing the evils that people can get away with in the guise of religion. The words have true power. After several listens I also began to fall in love with the guitars, which are truly abrasive and a perfect backdrop to the vocals. This is essential punk rock, right up their with Minor Threat, Early Black Flag and any other band that every one has a shirt for. Go find it, buy it, listen to it, and go break something thats loud, cause these guys are really pissed off and it tends to be infectious. Read more Less