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Friday, April 19, 2013

Album Review - THE CASUALTIES


The Casualties - Resistance
Season Of Mist, 2012
9/10


New York’s The Casualties may not be the most original punk band, but in a world where punk became pop-punk and hardcore evolved into metalcore, their no-frills homage to classic-style punk is refreshing. Resistance contains everything you’d expect – short, fast songs (16 songs in 36 minutes), plenty of shout-a-longs, and lyrical themes of fighting the man and societal injustice. The song titles tell it all – “Constant Struggle”, “Brick Wall Justice”, “Morality Police”, and “Behind Barbed Wire”. This ain’t rocket science, but The Casualties deliver the goods. The songs also benefit from a rock-solid production that brings their brand of scrappy punk out of the basement. An unusual switch to the Season Of Mist label might have indicated a stylistic change, but longtime fans (this is the band’s ninth album) have nothing to fear. The closest this veers into metal territory are the speed metal-type riffs of opening track “My Blood. My Life. Always Forward.” and “Life On The Line”. The Casualties stick to what they do best, and don’t waste anyone’s time by trying sound like something they’re not. This is easily one of the best punk albums I’ve heard in some time, and Resistance gives me hope that true punk can muster new life.

The Casualties perform on Saturday, April 20 at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis with support from Rocksteady Breakfast and Devil Blues Band.

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