AGNOSTIC FRONT: THE AMERICAN DREAM DIED (2015)
1) Intro; 2) The American
Dream Died; 3) Police Violence; 4) Only In America; 5) Test Of Time; 6) We Walk
The Line; 7) Never Walk Alone; 8) Enough Is Enough; 9) I Can't Relate; 10) Old
New York; 11) Social Justice; 12) Reasonable Doubt; 13) No War Fuck You; 14)
Attack!; 15) A Wise Man; 16) Just Like Yesterday.
Yes, in case you weren't aware, the American
dream just died, but you probably wouldn't believe this anyway unless you were
told about this by someone who sounds exactly like a 300-pound Neanderthal who
just sat down with his bare ass on a hornets nest. In other words, yes, ten years after the fact, Roger
Miret still shows no signs of getting weary from his Another Voice — maybe the idea is that in a few decades we will
finally get used to it, and once that happens, Agnostic Front will finally get
a chance to rule the world. All you have to do is be tenacious.
I do respect that attitude, but I think that I
respect the idea of keeping it short (this record barely goes over 27 minutes)
even more. If I understand this right, the album once again moves away from
metal and towards the good old hardcore — not just because of the song lengths
(several of these are well under one minute in duration), but also due to
another lineup shift, with Craig Silverman replacing Joseph James on second
guitar and the music embracing «noise» and «grind» over relatively complex
metal riffs or solos. What with all the nostalgia and everything, they may think they are channelling the
spirit of Victim In Pain here. But
not with that «gorilla in heat» voice they aren't, never in a million years.
As usual, there are no problems with the
overall energy level or the conviction with which the testosteronic riffs and
the anti-establishment lyrics are delivered. Just as usual, there is nothing
whatsoever worth discussing in the melody department, and the «gimmicks» this
time around consist of a two-minute intro with police sirens and news flashes
on the crimes of and ruptures within the evil capitalist system, and of a brief
quotation from Taxi Driver at the
beginning of ʽOld New Yorkʼ, in which Miret complains about "the Bowery
slums turned into fashion boutiques" and the lack of drug dealers and
freaks on the street. Uh... okay. I'm not sure I really want to comment on that
particular attitude.
Other than this brief piece of information, all
you really need to do is to look closely at the song titles — then understand
for yourself whether you may or may not need this in your life (depending,
among other things, on whether you have «occupation of Wall Street» coming up
on your calendar any time soon). The best I can do is not give the album a
thumbs down — because, somehow, I am marginally impressed at how those old
punkers seem to draw even more energy
out of their frustration at growing old (and irrelevant) than they used to. I
mean, the music is shit in any case, but as they get older, they learn to fling
it with increased force and accuracy, even if nobody seems to care any more.
Besides, it's not as if a whole lot of young artists these days cared much
singing about social problems — so, perhaps, there is still some niche space
left for the good old hardcore warriors.
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