End of Days

The time has come! The time to talk about one of my all-time favorite bands, that is, namely the insanely influential Discharge. Responsible for indestructible classics like "Hear Nothing, see Nothing, Say Nothing", "Realities of War" and "Why?", influencing the likes of Sepultura, Metallica, Ruin and Agnostic Front (to name but a few) in the process, as well as creating a whole genre of itself, sometimes referred to as D-beat, kängpunk, crustcore, 'dis-core' and probably many more denominations I am forgetting. And before anyone else brings it up, they are also reponsible for some complete duds like "Grave New World", but let's just imagine that was a completely different band. Denial can come in handy when it fits your agenda, you know.

"End of Days" is the band's umpteenth comeback album, but it has to be said that it is by far (and I do mean faaaaaarrrr) the most convincing of all the ones that came before (from 1984 on). The band sounds like they are out for blood, it has a bunch of great songs on it, and the cover art is a not so subtle nod to the uber-iconic "Never Again" artwork. So do I like this? Fuck yeah, I do, so let's dive into this little platter of punk power!

Right off the bat, you can hear that this is Discharge, because the DNA of their classic early work runs through these grooves in abundance. The pummeling d-beat drumming, simple yet immensely effective guitar riffing and the hoarsely barked vocals form the backbone for the short and aggressive sharp-edged tracks, reminding me more than once of their classic works. However, it needs to be said that this is no lazy carbon copy of "Hear Nothing, ...", there are newer elements added to the scathing Discharge sound of yore. I can definitely hear traces of high octane rock 'n' roll and some primal heavy metal flowing through this album, giving the overall sound a bit more depth throughout. The rock 'n' roll influence is especially noticeable in the searing lead work, where I detect a stepped up AC/DC vibe, reminding me of bands like Zeke and Peter Pan Speedrock, but Poison Idea came up as well. When the heavy metal influence creeps in, it gives the proceedings the vibe of a young Motörhead, with a hot pepper in their collective assholes, that is. The band plows on at a rapid velocity for most part, but the uptempo pounding metalpunkcore tracks are interspersed with a couple of somewhat slower, more menacing numbers, ensuring that there is some variation present. Luckily they don't overdo it, and the focus is primarily on high-charged punk violence, as it should be on a Discharge album.

The sound is massive as well. Both guitars and bass sound thunderous throughout, and the performance by vocalist JJ is truly menacing. I've heard and read a lot about the abscence of classic vocalist Cal on this album, but screw that shit. JJ blows him straight out of the water with a performance that sounds as solid and upright, as it is aggressive, proving he is a more than perfect fit for this version of Discharge. But all praise aside, if I have one gripe with this album, it's that the percussion sounds somewhat flat and lifeless, like the guy's playing on a set of empty boxes. With just that more body to it, this would have been even more of a blast of punk fury than it is already.

This is a more (much more!!) than decent comeback for a band that deserves the tag 'legendary' more than most other bands. It rips, it tears, it mauls and oozes righteous anger and fury throughout. I have seen them live a couple of times since this was released, and they still kill it. So, and I'm probably sounding like their press agent right now, but pick up this album and if they happen to be in town, go see 'em! There are far more naff things to fill your days with.