Unglued Reviews

Gallows’ debut is a brutal album. I don’t mean brutal on the ears (although the UK quintet’s brand of hardcore punk is unrelenting) so much as brutal on the mind. Frank Carter’s bilious vocals convey like few others the sound of a man clearly at the end of his tether. His is no melodramatic affectation of angst, but rather the unmistakable sound of genuine rage. The sleeve notes testify to the problems the band suffered during recording – death, violence, theft, betrayal – and these misfortunes are reflected in the songs, whether cloaked by metaphor (In The Belly Of A Shark) or completely undisguised (the accusatory Stay Cold).

The rabidly intense vocals and lyrics sit atop a taut framework of churning guitars offering at times quite intricate riffs, volatile bass, and precise drums that switch tempos on a dime (Kill The Rhythm). However, in this breakdown-heavy context the outfit still manages to retain a sense of melody, such that occasional keyboards by guitarist Laurent Barnard (as on Rolling With The Punches) don’t seem out of place.

The malevolent Just Because You Sleep Next To Me Doesn’t Mean You’re Safe and Will Someone Shoot That Fucking Snake (which also features a keyboard riff alongside the down-tuned guitars) confirm that anyone who likes The Bronx will thrill to the ferocity of this record, while establishing that Gallows aren’t trying to be anyone but themselves.

The savage sentiments of the title track wrap the release, and this song more than any other leaves me shaking and exhausted simply from listening to it. The album as a whole is like a gale blowing away the cobwebs that have grown over UK hardcore. It’s devastating, it’s sincere, it’s cathartic and, make no mistake, it’s brilliant. Unmissable.

Owen Heitmann