Monday 3 May 2021

Silence Means Death - Atomgrad (Guest Review By Dirk Ceustermans)

   
(Photo : Tom Bruelemans)


 Belgian punk fanatic Dirk is back today with something suitably noisy for you to check out...

Atomgrad by Silence Means Death,
taken from Đornata/Silence Means Death split 12", release on Angry Voice Records in 2020.

  Bruges is a town I avoid because of its fame. The mass tourism suffocates the town in a way it does not appeal to me. I should definitely reconsider visiting now that Corona dropped a veil of silence onto its medieval town centre. I want to sense the vibes that effect Silence Means Death's (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063534879627) inspiration to dark and depressive lyrics. I guess it is the D-Beat thing to do.

  Usually crust, d-beat or power violence (a misplaced name for ultrafast hardcore imho) doesn't get me high. However some Belgian and Dutch bands seem to keep it interesting and really enjoyable. SMD is definitely one of them. I saw them perform in Ghent, with a whole string of bands that I do not recommend seeing if you went on the booze the night before. Crude SS was the reason I went over to see the gig. Crude SS were not in good form, or just plain bad that night, SMD saved the day! So I thought to feature them as recently I collected a bit of their stuff on wax.

  These guys from Bruges bring you an excellent blend of Motorhead in a D-Beat package. Vocals do remind me of the singer and good friend Pies, from Belgian's D-Beat legends Capital Scum, but the music has that unmistakable Motorhead inspiration. 

  I selected Atomgrad, one of the first track I heard from them, ripping D-Beat drums and that definite Swedish D-Beat influence in it. At first I even though the title was a Swedish word, but research enlightened me this refers to "closed cities" around military bases or nuclear research plants etc... The song refers most likely to Pripyat, founded on February 4, 1970 as the ninth "atomgrad", a type of closed town in the Soviet Union, to serve the nearby Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. (from wiki). 

  There you go, you got the threat of nuclear disaster, the D-Beat and the superb musicianship, the ingredients to get some exciting powerful punk from one of the most touristic cities in Flanders. Very appropriate for a city drenched into silence during this pandemic era.


  Atomgrad...

Take a last deep breath while you still can A nuclear fallout the end of our days Atomgrad Radiation will strike without a sound Can we escape to survive Atomgrad We took the future from our children away The price we pay is way too high Living into a nuclear world All the warnings we have ignored See us moving to our final course The acid rain drips from my face

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