Bow to None

All hyperbole aside, I can say with no inhibition that I loathed just about everything resembling punk rock that came out between 1991 and 1997, and the principle reason was that it was lacking in any sense of depth. Whether it was the one-trick pony character of Nirvana's "Nevermind" sponging off of The Pixie's concept of play quiet verses and loud choruses with a token acoustic song that did the same thing minus the loud parts, or Green Day banging out the same 3 or 4 pop/rock chords just a little too fast while having zero of the attitude factor that made it work for The Ramones and The Sex Pistols, everything just took an idea and ran with it, and just kept on running until it threw up, and then after it threw up, then it ran with it some more (apologies to G.W. Bailey for the overt Police Academy paraphrase.) By 1994, it could be said that what I disliked about punk at the time was that it wasn't doing what English Dogs did on "Bow To None".

Perhaps part of what went into this album being so multifaceted and intricate by punk standards is that this band had essentially been there and back again insofar as the 80s were concerned, going a route very similar to that of Discharge by starting hardcore and then morphing into 80s heavy metal, though in this case both styles were pulled off well. A big part of it is the axe man Gizz Butt, whose fairly busy riff work and proficient lead work lends itself to a metallic flavor, occasionally sounding like a middle ground between Bones and Vivian Campbell circa "Holy Diver". While this album is pretty comfortably entrenched in similar territory to a number of early 80s hardcore and crossover acts, Gizz's guitar input provides a level of detailing and nuance that makes either a 2 minute quickie like "Nipper Tipper" or an extended rocker like "The Hanging Wanker" into something with twice the staying power of most songs in this style.

The overall charm that this album holds is that it listens like a punk album being played by a metal band, with maybe the exception of Wakey's vocals which have the predictable gruff sound characteristic of a British punk band post-Sex Pistols and the limited range that comes with it. A number of ideas generally foreign present themselves, including a rather elaborate classically influenced ditty called "D.N.A." that sounds like something Rhandy Rhodes might have dreamed up. On the other hand, a number of comical elements such as a 50s doo-wop intro to a conventional mid-tempo crusher "Barnaby Hoofer" or a spontaneous fit of flatulence to kick off the short as hell "Bastard" that are not altogether uncommon in this style. If nothing else, it showcases a great level of versatility that, unlike a number of younger bands in the 90s, were not at emnity with the concept of utlizing elements of 80s music, probably because they spent time in that scene and didn't feel the need to be a dick about the excesses of that period the way Kurt Cobain did.

Above all else, this is a fun album, and should be approached as such. Generally albums like these tend to come with a heavy dose of political dissent in terms of lyrical content, but here it's a bit toned down and looking more on the lighter side of things. At times these songs have a little bit of a party edge to them (particularly "Amsterdam" and "Fun Door Enlightening") that would make them fit in nicely in a pub jukebox. It just goes to show that regardless to whether one is touting a mullet or a mohawk, there is always room for different scenes to converge on a single album, and much like the crossover efforts of Cro-Mags and Suicidal Tendencies, it wouldn't be much of a stretch to see metal heads getting into an album like this.