Street punk from a small Midwest US town? Street punk is typically formed in gritty urban environments, so does this make any sense? Before answering that specific question, it might be worth noting that the same small Midwest town has also spawned the Scandinavian-sounding black metal band A Hill to Die Upon, so there must be something going on in Monmouth, IL.
Fight Within is the first release from No Punk Influences, a band forged and strengthened through years of playing garages, basements, and any other venue that would have them. Over time, the band gained a following and even played some of the larger, well-known festivals, including one of the last Cornerstone Festivals or maybe even the last one in 2012 (my memory is a bit hazy). To be honest, the set I saw was one of the coolest Cornerstone Festival moments from the many I went to. NPI was roaring through their set when a guitar string or two broke, leaving them without a guitar. Mikey Scars from Mason Summers was in the crowd and ran to his car to get one of his guitars so their set could continue. Very punk rock, very sloppy, fast and fun and in the end they were playing suggestions from the crowd. That sort of thing is what I was expecting from this album and I wasn’t disappointed.
NPI, set the listener straight right from the opening of “More than Conquerors” with the line “We’re No Punk Influences from Monmouth, Illinois” and then the guitar, bass, and drums all tear into the song at breakneck speed, just like you would expect for raw punk rock. Overall sound on the album is rough and raw, definitely not overproduced like many punk rock albums end up. One aspect to their sound to note is that there is a lot of sound coming from just the three band members. In that sense, NPI reminds me of another Thumper Punk band, True Liberty, who also are a three-piece but seem to generate a sound larger and fuller than you would expect. Fast guitar tends to be the dominant sound for NPI, but there is a good bit of variety on the album. To my ears, the overall production/mixing seems to be a bit uneven from song to song, but all are decent quality, and if nothing else, that lends an air of authenticity to a debut album from a punk band.
The songs on the album show a good bit of variety, which keeps things interesting. The guitar riff and verse structure in “Evil Dead” sound like they could easily fit within early, Keith Morris-era Black Flag. Making a song about the epic horror film of the same name does also lend some lightness to the general seriousness of the rest of the album, which lyrically focuses on the struggles of being a Christian in today’s society. It’s always nice to see band’s that have an appreciable sense of humor or at least appreciation that all in life doesn’t need to be so deadly serious.
“Dead to Sin” starts out with cool sounding drum beat, being joined in by the bass for a bit before the guitars come in and again, this variety certainly helps the album out. Having the vocals trading off between different band members is another aspect to their sound that keeps things interesting for the listener. The fact that the different vocalists are similar and almost interchangeable keeps the changes from becoming the focal point of the songs, but makes this aspect of their sound a positive.
Some of the songs showcase the bass guitar which is a welcome thing that doesn’t always show up in punk songs but is in my opinion a part of the overall “punk” sound that tends to be missing from a lot of bands. “Pull Us Through” starts out with some awesome bass and that continues through the song even though the guitar really comes to the forefront for most of the song, starting with the bass really helps the listener find the bass line throughout the song. Overall, the song is a fast, fun listen as well and even features a bass solo which is a nice change from the expected. The contribution of the bass guitar continues to be an important aspect to the NPI sound , also carrying parts of the songs “Materialism” and “Turn Our Backs”.
One thing the album does is make the listener want more. Eleven songs of fast street punk does not cover a lot of time as you might imagine and there were a couple of songs that really didn’t resonate with me, which does make it a bit shorter. That being said, this is a fun album worth spending some time on. Fight Within has put together 11 songs of fast, in-your-face punk rock in true street punk style. Songs are short, vocals from multiple band members convey a lot of the expected attitude for the genre, and the songs, while nearly all played as fast as possible, are written with enough variety in terms of structure and style to keep things fun and interesting.
Rating: 6.5/10
Written by John Jackson
Tracklist:
1. More Than Conquerors
2. One By One
3. Evil Dead
4. Smash Hit
5. Dead to Sin
6. Lost
7. Pull Us Through
8. Materialism
9. So Selfish
10. Turn Our Backs
11. Seek and Find
Band Members:
Loudmouth LaVal – vocals and bass
Chris Lefler – guitar and vocals
Josh Christianson – drums and vocals
Record Label: Thumper Punk Records, April 2014
Buy the album here:
Holland: First Paradox
Norway: Nordic Mission
USA: Metal Helm