The Decayed - Corrupt politicians will never set you Free

August 30th 2022

(Album Review)

****1/2

Don't exploit Hardcore Punk on their new record!!!

Daaamn, I’m late with this review, because I just kept putting the album on and listening to it again and again. I couldnt help it, I love a band thats Hardcore as f**k but are not afraid to throw in classic songwriting too. Im gonna be honest straight from the start of this review, I love the band The Exploited. I’ve seen them numerous times, and I’ve got most of their albums.Their greatest albums weren’t their early yob-core stuff, but actually their last two 'Beat the Bastards' (1996) and and 'F**k the System' (2003). So for Exploited fans its been a long wait for a new album…twenty bloody years!.

It looks like The Decayed have been waiting so long too that they decided to just go ahead and record the album The Exploited were expected to make anyway. Yup!!! this is classic peak Exploited stuff, not a nostalgia trip, nor a rip-off of the Classic Punk icons... but taking the next step in that road laid down by others. The real trick here is to fuse Hardcore Punk with Metal and not be afraid to be angry and beautiful at the same time. If you listened to The Exploited’s track ‘Was it Me’, you can see how Hardcore can be f**king brutal, honest and beautiful at the same time. This whole Decayed album seems to follow that track’s template, and I just love it.

Anti-flag, like The Exploited too, were never afraid to use the classic four chord formula when making anthems. The Decayed use this perfectly, throwing chaos into your ears before bringing it all back with four chord anthems. Proper fist in the air pumping Punk Rock, straight away from the chorus of album opener 'Piece by Piece'. The Vocals are aggressively laid down with enough fizz, sizzle and growls from the larynx of Jake, reminding me of Amens’ Casey Chaos and mixed in with early Anti-Flag. It’s an incredible talent to deliver that vocal punch while also playing guitar too.

Drums are incredible from Steve without being too attention grabbing. Just listen to track 'Bite the Bullet' for some double kick perfection and a master class in how to properly use crashes. I keep coming back to this song and playing it louder each time. Big shout out to Pat on bass guitar who powers through 99% of the songs, stopping only to show off some incredible bass licks and styles that invoke Matt Freeman (Rancid) on bass for technicality, especially on tracks like 'Desolate'.

Its hard for me to tell who plays lead guitar on the album, I’m guessing its Dave, doubling up with Jake for a blend that hits the sweet spot. 'Time Has Come' has some of the finest guitar tones and perfect lead that goes actually dares to dip into Pop Punk, but just filthy as f**k sounding, and once again featuring bass guitar perfection. By the time you reach the final track ‘The Dream is Dead’ you are gonna be gasping for air. Its pure singalong Hardcore, with a nod to The Misfits too for its simplicity while remaining euphoric and Punk as f**k.

And being Punk as f**k, I love the mission statement from the band too - that yes!!! it's political. There was a dark time for punk a few years ago when it seemed to be all about bongs and booze. Decayed firmly make a mission statement about rejecting that. No, not as a straight edge band, but the utter pointlessness of not being political in the current age. Good. We all need a bit of escapism, but if you aint angry at the world right now, then just what are you?. All in all, I’m not sure I could love this album any more than I do. The only thing I’d want to see are some ‘woah’ backing vocals, in the style of The Misfits or Bad Religion. But thats probably just personal taste. Its brutal, honest, beautiful and bloody brilliant. I just hope I get to see it live, the minute we know they are playing we will let you know.