Apostoloi! – ‘Spread Terror’.
Apostoloi – Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
For our previous work on the band – Click Here.
A short fast Punk album with little-to-no messing around is sometimes what you need and with Montreal natives Apostoloi returning with their third effort, that is primarily what you are getting. The band combine British Street Punk and Oi! with a strong flavour of vintage North American Hardcore Punk reminiscent of such bands as D.O.A, Poison Idea and The Restarts.
The band’s strong leftist politics are part in parcel with the aggressive Thrash-esque Hardcore riffs presented in ‘This Life’, with said riffs and the Rancid-style bass complimented by strong and melodic classic guitar lines. ‘I’m Sick’ begins in a Black Flag manner before hitting more notes similar to a more British sounding Rancid and their self-titled (2000) Hardcore album.
‘No Tomorrow’ breaks the ferocity and starts in a far more playful manner – for Apostoloi at least – in a mid tempo pace breaker. The notable melodic guitar lines and rhythms showing a different side to the band with the vintage Street Punk vocals giving their best tribute to days gone by.
‘Fighting For’ teases this mid-tempo Punk for around thirty seconds more before unrelenting classic late 70’s early 80’s Hardcore is given some air time again reminiscent of Black Flag but also heavily influenced by British Street Punk with The Restarts coming to mind. ‘Fighting For’ carries a darker sound that adds that edge to the already serrated edge of Apostoloi’s Punk-rage.
‘Au Diable La Morale’ sees Apostoloi fall back on some 77′ style lead guitar, lighter and choppier rhythms and their French-Canadian roots. This fifth track is Punk-Rock in its early days filtered through the lense of those who came after in full tribute and is coincidentally one of best on the album.
‘Dead End Job’ sounds as if Sick Of It All had accepted Oi! and Street Punk half way through their career rather than number it as a simple influence in one of the hardest and heaviest on this release. ‘Dead End Job’ also plys more of the mid-tempo Oi! the band are known for and in perfect balance epitomises their sound.
‘Blow The Fuse’ is a good track but doesn’t quite boast the same tensity and attractiveness of its predecessors but with that said does produce some excellent vintage Punk riffs and chord progressions in its latter half. ‘Blow The Fuse’ does however lead well enough to another political accosting via ‘National Retarded Association’ or for short ‘NRA’.
Now the meaning of this track has been derived, you are hit with thick, cumbersome Punk rhythms and chugging designed to simply entice and keep you focussed through repetition, not quite going anywhere just yet but eventually doing so. It is in fact just past the one minute mark that the second-longest track on the release begins its charge at mid pace but unrelenting in its point. That is until around the 1:50 mark where shredding strings, a low bass rumble and (again) relentless drumming provide both catharsis and refrain against the slower, darker side of Apostoloi.
Find them:
#StayFresh
