Gutterblood first came to my attention with the release of their single with political commentator Bonnie Prince Bob, the excellent anti-monarchy rant that is Gardyloo and their excellent Hard Ghandi EP from whence it came. I’m glad to note that the outspoken Bob is back alongside Tom with some hard hitting vocals and lyrics when you pair that with founding member Andy MacVannan whose thunderous ground-shaking bass lines form the solid backbone of the bands sound, complemented by some heard hitting heavy riffing by ex-Gin Goblin Dave you have a band who are in fine fettle angrier and more forthright than ever.
There is a school of thought from some that says keep your politics out of music, and these people also seem to have the ability to leave their politics at the door and to separate the artist and the art. Let’s take for example, the current band in the headlines, The Disturbed. Apart from the fact that their music is dire and in the most part unlistenable, their painfully awful cover of the Sound of Silence in particular, I don’t understand how anyone can go and see a band whose lead singer (I use the word loosely) actively supports genocide, signing bombs that would ultimately be used by the corrupt state of Israel to murder innocent women and children. It is utterly beyond me. I would not be prepared to sacrifice my principles and leave the politics then door. But I’m willing to bet, some of these same fans will be first in line to condemn the under-fire Bobby Vylan and call for his cancellation for standing up for human rights. The world is twisted and bent.
A wee plug now, if you’re in Glasgow on Tuesday when The Disturbed are somehow still being allowed to play in Glasgow when elsewhere politicians are baying for the blood of Bobby Vylan and also football Aston Villa, for standing up for the persecuted and speaking out against a state whose sole aim is to wipe out a nation of people and take their land, you should head along to the OVO Hydro and show your support at a protest gig and speakers which has been arranged to happen outside the venue. Show Racism the Red Card – Glasgow
Anyway, back to Gutterblood, but staying with politics and, of course, Palestine.
If some people can’t see that politics exists in everything they do every day, then the joke is on them. I’m of the camp that says wear your passions and beliefs boldly and proudly on your sleeve, shout about them from the rooftops, and in the case of bands, if that means using your music to platform these principles and beliefs, then I’m all for politics in music. And so, it won’t be hard for any readers here to recognise that I’m all for the mighty Gutterblood and their hard-hitting punk with a conscience six track EP, Good Dogs Will Never Die, a more than worthy addition to bands catalogue of work.
The EP kicks off with one of the most uncompromising tracks in the EP, the single 24 pulls no punches and was initially released in response to the proscription of Palestine Action and in doing so highlight the hypocrisy of the Labour government in criminalising those protesting peacefully while doing nothing in the face of the ongoing murder of tens of thousands of innocents. Oh wait, they did say they’d recognise the state of Palestine if there was no ceasefire, ineffectual and too little too late. Starmer all over. I bet Netanyahu and his cronies were quaking in their boots. The song is a poignant warning and furious protest against the so-called war in Gaza, highlighting the case of just one of tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians murdered in the name of Zionism.
The intro of the song has a sinister slow burn to it, the squall of guitars building alongside a background wailing vocal channelling an affecting sadness, like the wailing of families faced with the murder of their children. As the drums kick in and the guitars build to a crescendo, the number 24 is repeated over and again, before the wall of sound breaks with the proclamation:
Maimana Jarada she was 24
I can’t really put things better than the lyrics do, delivered in a staccato manner to drive the point home.
She was artistic
And was creative
And she was studying graphic design
And she is … dead
Dead
Dead
Yes, dead at 24, an innocent victim of a bloodthirsty Israeli state.
She was murdered by Israel…. and she is DEAD
There is a mid-song beak that brings to mind Bela Lugosi’s Dead, with it’s plucked electric guitar, the intensity increasing with the incessant background bass throbbing as the guitars and pounding drums build and meld together once again, the lyrics reaching a zenith as they drive the point home with the soundtrack becoming ever more frantic and aggressive, the anger palpable through the music.
As I write this we are currently experiencing a fragile ceasefire which has been blatantly breached on dozens of occasions by Israel, by their own admission, and has us witness heartbreaking scenes of Gazans returning to a war zone where homes they once knew are reduced to rubble. While closer to home politicians wrong their hands and cry out, conflating any criticism of Israel as anti-semitism, and trying to censure bands like Bob Vylan and football clubs like Aston Villa.
The intro to The Great Escape picks up the squally guitar noise from the opening song before fading to reveal a stream of consciousness, an internal monologue which midway through takes a twist in direction and a turn for the worst, the change in focus of the verbal tirade signalled by a burst of dissonant noise which fades as the ridiculousness of West of Scotland sectarian hatred is laid bare as the cleverly worded lyrics spew out like the venomous hatred they represent. Let one of those meatheads hear this and guaranteed the subtlety of what is being said will soar over their heads, or fly through the empty space between their ears, as they shag their flags, and pledge allegiance to the king and ramble on about getting their country back and about free speech while getting their union flag boxers in a fankle when ex-footballers call out their fake nationalism for what it really is. Free speech eh?
The band follow up The Great Escape with an instrumental in the shape Soliloquy, another tune with a slow build to it, a slow bass line and singular drum beat signal the start of the track, before a guitar line is added and the drums fully kick in, the guitars layer atop that solid underlying rhythm, set by the bass as the tune builds with a potent fervour, then all at once the powerful melee ceases, to reveal the bassline once more, with squealing guitar lines and whispered voices bring the track to an affecting close, the last whispered voice introducing the next song.
Good Dogs Will Never Die has sinister undertones running throughout the song, the bass low and slow, matched with a twanging guitar line all of which complement the lyrical theme, “The kids need a new hero…” before referencing a “Tommy” in the lyrics… The song has eerily menacing laughter dispersed throughout which adds to the ominous threatening nature of the song, the addition of the melodica giving it a spaghetti western twist . A new hero…? There is an urgency to Blue Flash Fantastic that reflects perfectly the nervous energy and anxiety that come with the story told in the lyrics. The high intensity driving rhythm reaching a level that feels like things could spontaneously combust just as things culminate in the worst possible way for the protagonist. The message at the songs close a haunting indictment of the society we live in, where the rich are richer then ever and the poor getting poorer, the divide in between cavernous.
Closing off the EP, New Man picks up where Soliloquy left off as the intro fades and the crunching guitar riffs and pulsating bass lines build to a forceful potency verging on Ministry and Godflesh industrial rock territory, the whispered vocals return encouraging the listener to strain against the intensity of the instruments to hear the message about class and capitalism which pretty much underlines the whole album.
If you hadn’t already guessed, I fucking love this album/EP and I wholeheartedly support and recommend the music and messages contained within, writing about it has been quite cathartic.
Order the album via the band’s bandcamp site Gutterblood