Apostoloi – ‘Fighting For?’ – Oi! Montreal!
Apostoloi – Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Oi! group Apostoloi, released their album Fighting For? on Christmas day 2015, although actually recording it back in 2013, showcasing powerful political Punk not for the light-hearted.
Hailing from Montreal, the band certainly know how to pack-a-punch when it comes to Hardcore Punk. Mixing 80’s style Street Punk with lashes of drums, scratchy vocals and plenty of obscenities, this is the epitome of Punk-Rock, and the album is angry, frightening and incredible.
They only ask for two things; justice and the truth, and to top it off its “200% DIY”!
Politically and socially focussed, Fighting For?, is a perfect hate fuelled album, inspired by bands such as The Virus, Motorhead, Oxymoron and Caméra Silens. So punch the walls, go mad in the pit, and put your fist in the air and party Punk style in Montreal.
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Track one, ‘Knock at Your Door’, opens with explosions and sounds of war, quite hard hitting before the drums bring this one in as the bass and guitar complete their task. It’s simply just catchy noise with wonderfully candid lyrics ‘profits from death,what a fucking threat’.
‘NTFA’, track two gets right there as a bass lead plays the song in, the guitar steadily twangs and the percussion builds. The vocals are angrier, yet this one is surprisingly tuneful, a theme we see more and more as the album goes on.
Track three, ‘Aggression’, kicks off with an ironic little soundbite and a rather pleasing classic Punk bass-line. The drums pound, the guitar buzzes and the fierce vocals commence. It’s very Black Flag, dirty, gritty, and so very 80’s. A defiant anthem with a nice guitar solo thrown in the mix.
Track four, ‘Dead End Job’, is relatable and catchy, sounding very similar to Lower Class Brats. It also leans a little towards a more Thrash Metal influenced sound, yet maintains it’s chanting to and “the perfect Oi! song” appeal.
‘Brainwash’ has a cracking intro, it’s slow, dramatic and sounds like Anti-Nowhere league. Classic Street Punk with a sneaky little guitar solo, short but sweet, and again, very catch. While, track six, ‘Apostoloi’, has a funky little bass-line to open. Again, it’s another chant along track, with quite a violent and aggressive sound and in my opinion, is the perfect Hardcore/Oi! tune.
Track seven, ‘Straightforward To The 4th Reich’, could be an Inner Terrestrials song, with a great dub-like intro, a quiet break from the madness, with less aggression and perfect lyrics. The anger does pick up again towards the end of the track and is another highlighting an already flawless Punk album.
‘Atheist Forces’, another track with great candid lyrics, twangy guitar and another catchy chorus. A great testament to the powerful, angry, vicious cacophony that this album is, it’s the stuff circle pits are made of.
If you had to explain Oi! to a person, this would be the sound you would use. And if this wasn’t exciting enough, the band are currently working on another DIY album to be released later this year. Personally, I can’t wait.
‘Waste’ is next, my personal highlight of the album, a cacophony of wonderful sounds we’ve already heard, but the guitar opens this one which makes a change. The guitar and bass complement each other perfectly despite the track being unmastered.
It displays the quality of the song writing and the relevance of the lyrics, ‘blue against red, wrong colour you’re getting shot – six feet under you’re gonna rot’. It’s unapologetic and everything Punk music should be; scary, truthful – and to the point.
The unmastered, ‘Another Night’ closes, culminating all of the above and leaving the again catchy chorus well and truly stuck in my head.
With a new album on the way, Apostoloi’s Oi!/Street Punk/Hardcore amalgamtion is one to watch if you are that way inclined, find them via the links below.
#StayFresh
