PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Intro
Who would have thought that historic market town Congleton would have heard of Punk Rock music but Vomit spewed forth from there over forty years ago! Forty-one years ago, to be precise, and they have recently self released a double album of tracks past and present. The album was recorded at Tremolo Studios in Staffordshire, produced by Dan Rowley and Vomit.
Nine songs past, eleven songs present, together coming in at less than fifty-five minutes, which means the songs average less than three minutes each. Plenty of short snappy tracks to keep you interested. I’m not going to cover every single track just pull out a few observations.
Past
We go back to the past for ‘side’ one which opens with Society Breakdown a song with a pounding beat and siren style riffage chugging along nicely until it ends abruptly. Fight for Your Life has a heavy bass line, super-fast lyrics, and duelling riffs to match the title! A ska punk/reggae beat for Doesn’t Matter How Old You Are tells us like it is, it really doesn’t matter how old you are, every age has it’s advantages and the song is so good we get it twice with the ska mix having added sax appeal.
Greenhouse Gases has a Slpodgenessabounds vibe and lyrics which are as salient today as ever, ‘Global warming? It’s fucking freezing man!’. The opening riffs to What Ya Doing To Me reminded of Who Are The Mystery Girls a song by New York Dolls covered by Slaughter and the Dogs. Shut Your Mouth is my favourite track on ‘side’ one a catchy song which you can’t help singing along to at gigs, with the chorus ‘Shut, shut, shut, shut, your mouth’ it’s easy to pick up and give it your all.
Track Listing
1: Society Breakdown
2: Fight for Your Life
3: Doesn’t Matter How Old You Are
4: Greenhouse Gases
5: Damned Nation
6: What Ya Doing To Me
7: Life’s Not Fair
8: Shut Your Mouth
9: Doesn’t Matter How Old You Are (Ska Mix)
Present
The past is past? Is it? Not in Vomit’s case as they still play some of those tracks at gigs today, but we now go back to the future. The introduction from ITV’s News at Ten with a chime from Big Ben gets ‘side’ two underway. A song with a pounding beat and vibe of The Jam. Society broke down in the past, in the future it’s time for Kill City Breakdown a catchy song. In my favourite track on ‘side’ two, Dirty Toys, we get those siren riffs again. With the lyrics ‘Tied to the bed with nothing but a G-String on’ ‘Oh no what’s that buzzing noise’ I got the gist that the ‘Dirty Toys’ in question weren’t lost dolls or cuddly bears!
China White another ska/reggae cross I’m thinking of Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry covered by a ska Punk band like Rancid. Third World War a great fighting song, is actually about playing a punk rock gig with lyrics including ‘We don’t need your confrontation. We’re just playing to the punk rock nation’ ‘It’s going to sound like a third world war tonight’ Forgive Forget has a pummeling beat and riffage reminded me of Duchess by The Stranglers. Diligaf? Is that a word? It is now but I found it stands for ‘Does it look like I give a fuck’ a song with a great bass beat. The last song New World Disorder has a flavour of The Sloths’ One Way Out.
Track Listing
1: 21st Century News
2: Kill City Breakdown
3: Middle America
4: Dirty Toys
5: China White
6: 3rd World War
7: She Said, He Said
8: Forgive Forget
9: Diligaf
10: I Can’t Wait
11: New World Disorder
Verdict
Overall a nice taster of Vomit! Can vomit have a nice flavour? Swallow two pints of lager and a packet of crisps, some Rancid Jam, throw in a pinch of ska, a sprinkling of reggae. Pogo around on the dance floor to churn it all around, make yourself throw up and out comes something akin to Vomit! Past, present it all leaves a good taste in the mouth!
Band Members:
Vocals – Lee Campbell
Bass & Vocals – Marshal Beard
Drums – Stephen Williams
Guitar – Stuart Gower
Gutar – Paul Carson
(Sax – Mark Rowley)
Links:
Photo from Rebellion courtesy of MohawkCallum find more pictures here.
- £7.99
