Thumper Punk Records specialise in punk, hardcore and ska music that reflects a positive, Christ-centred message. Absolved is an old-school hardcore /skate punk from Ventura, California. They have released a full-length album ‘Absolved’ (2010) and their ‘This One Goes To Seven’ EP (a reference to Spinal Tap) in October 2011. Then they combined the two as a re-release. They have been compared to Minor Threat, Bad Brains and Poison Idea.
Being a punk album, most of the tracks are short and swift. They feature rampant guitar, hell-for-leather drumming and shouty vocals. With so many tracks to review, I’m going to pick out the highlights and try to explain where they are coming from. ‘Confronting The Atheistic Sideshow’ hits out at the education system and the accepted way of thinking as they declare “Atheist-Free Youth / We’ve embraced what’s true / God’s not the one who’s dead”. They proclaim their straightedge views in ‘Declaration To A Dead World’ and make the case for a positive male role-model in ‘All My Heroes Have Fallen’.
Cancer can be merciless. My mother died within five months of being diagnosed. Anyone else who has seen a friend or family suffer from the disease will agree with the sentiment in ‘Cancer The B*stard’. They cover ‘We Are 138’ by The Misfits and include a song about the Marine Corps called ‘The Few And The Proud’ (to a punked up tune of ‘Johnny Comes Marching Home’).
Jimmy Sisco spent six years in the US Marine Corps serving as a Field Radio Operator in both artillery and infantry units. Being part of the Marines inspired him to write ‘Relentless Leathernecks’ about the World War I battle between the US Marines and Germans in Belleau Wood, France. The battle raged from 6th to 26th June 1918 and saw U.S. forces suffer 9,777 casualties, of which 1,811 were fatal. The number of German casualties is not known, although some 1,600 troops were taken prisoner. The French name for the wood, Bois Belleau, was officially renamed Bois de la Brigade de Marine, in honour of the US Marine Corps’s tenacity in its re-taking. “Pinned down by machine gun fire, mass casualties / “For Christ’s sake, c’mon! Do you want to live forever!?” / Ammunition is lacking, grab bayonets / We’ll win this thing with our bare hands / Relentless Leathernecks”.
‘I The Contrite’ barely makes it to the one minute mark and ‘Turn Your Head And Snip’ (about vasectomy or male sterilisation known as ‘the snip’) is only 20 seconds! ‘Halloween’ by the Misfits was covered by AFI and Billy Bragg’s “To Have And To Have Not” by Lars Fredrickson (Rancid). However, I did enjoy the Billy Bragg cover as it had a vibe that reminded me of The Clash at their peak. They close with the rambling ‘The Walking Dead’ that has an unfinished quality to it.
Rating: 6.5/10
Reviewed by Peter John Willoughby
Tracks:
01. Confronting The Atheistic Sideshow
02. I The Contrite
03. Declaration To A Dead World
04. All My Heroes Have Fallen
05. Vespers
06. No Victory At Carl’s
07. Cancer The B*stard
08. And Of Heaven In Such A Hell
09. We Are 138 (Misfits cover)
10. Turn Your Head And Cough
11. The Relativism Plague
12. The Few And The Proud
13. This One’s For The Survivors
14. Relentless Leathernecks
15. I The Contrite
16. Turn Your Head And Snip
17. Halloween (Misfits cover)
18. Turn Your Head And Cough
19. To Have And To Have Not (Billy Bragg cover)
20. The Walking Dead
Members
Jimmy Sisco – lead vocals & guitar
Byron Brumit – bass
Bob – guitars
Aaron – drums
Record Label: Thumper Punk Records
Weblinks: Reverbnation / Myspace / Facebook