It’s nice when artists get back to their roots. There’s a time and place for growth and exploration. But there’s also a time and place to let the rage loose, and that’s what’s happening with Band of Bastards on their debut twelve-song slab of blistering hardcore. That’s probably not what you think about when you heard band names like ...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead, Sparta, Markov, Black Books, We'll Go Machete and Glass Shadows, but this time around they’re wearing their influence on their sleeve, with a heavy dose of hardcore from the 1990-2005 era.
And that timestamp is kind of the crux here. The record starts strong. “Ruined” is chaotic and forceful, using breakdowns to pummel and shout. Then “Prospect” mixes it up with a bit of a groove and a call-and-response style rhythm before it turns back to overdrive at the next song, “Division.” While things are still going pretty strong at this point, the formula starts to show. This record is just really derivative. While I’m sure this project was meant to pay homage, it never really establishes itself as a unique band. Over 12 songs, it pulls heavily from New York hardcore to early Aughts brutal anger and I hear some shared of Refused and even Fugazi at times.
The theme is essentially a world gone mad: not mad at lockdowns, which probably inspired the project in a sense, but mad at the blatant injustice we see every day. From the blunt “Dying in the Streets” to the “I can’t breathe” lyrics of “Let Me Out,” the anger bubbles and boils over. Then, as hardcore is unity music, it all culminates with the Sick of It All-sounding closing track “We’re All In This Together.”
While Band of Bastards is a new project, it’s all very familiar -- and I don’t mean because of their other bands. It pulls so heavily from the classics that it sounds like a copy and it’s hard to take it seriously, despite the message. The added effects, such as the speak-sing “Fuck that!” in “Dying in the Streets” and the clinking of beer bottles in “We’re All In This Together” draw extra attention and it comes across as corny rather than moving. By the end it feels like a tribute band.
It’s fun to hear musicians doing something outside their regular style but overall this record leaves a lot to be desired. I’m sure the band had a lot of fun recording it and the catharsis of shouting along can’t be understated. Songs like “Let Me Out,” “Ruined,” and “Can’t Ya Crawl” are potent blasts of energy and frustration but, as a whole, if you like this style then you basically already have this on your record shelf in another package.
