Genocidal Justice

This is a controversial name in certain circles for sure. Together with bands as Raid and Vegan Reich, Statement stood at the roots of the so-called hardline straight edge movement. These bands (who are interesting enough, musically speaking) incorporated their vegan anti drugs/booze/tobacco message into their lyrics with all the sensitivity and open-mindedness of a band like Skrewdriver. Advocating blunt violence, these acts caused a division in the straight edge hardcore scene, as you can imagine. So much so that the music became a second thought when discussing the hardliners and their bands. So with the introduction out of the way, let's take a look at the music, for once.

Although sole member Patrick Poole has his roots in the old UK anarcho scene (think of the likes of Crass, Conflict and Rudimentary Peni here), the music on this compilation is very much metal in every aspect. It has the fast thrash/death metal style riffing, double bass-driven percussion and some searing leads combined into short, angry songs that certainly don't skimp on the aggression. Elements from early Bolt Thrower and Slayer are combined into varied bursts of energetic metal. Playing is sloppy as fuck in places, the arrangements of the songs are sometimes peculiar and the overall production has that underground DIY feeling stamped all over it, and yet I still like this stuff loads! As stated before, it sure is energetic, and Patrick delivers it all with bucket loads of conviction, you can definitely hear that through the shortcomings and the stripped-down production. I cannot put it other than that it's honest and, well, charming in a way. If I have to point something out as being my favorite part on this little ditty, it's gotta be the vocals. Just try to imagine if Cronos from Venom had a baby with "Show No Mercy" era Tom Araya. It's gruff, it's hoarse, it's brilliant!

And thus we come to a difficult conclusion: I can easily imagine (and understand) that people would consider this crap. Playing is at times questionable to put it mildly, the compositions are sometimes pretty odd, the production has a real home-made edge to it and the lyrical message is harsh, so I can truly understand if this turns people off big time. I myself, I like the energy, aggression and conviction that Statement has put into the music, and any band that presents a home-brewn cocktail (preferably non-alcoholic and vegan, of course) of old Bolt Thrower, Slayer, Venom, Sacrilege (UK) and NME is alright in my book!