How Crust Survived the Millennium Bug (part 5): Flyblown "The Fear and the Fury" Lp, 2005

Sam McPheeters' book, Mutations: the Many Strange Faces of Hardcore Punk, got me to think. In case you don't know, the man used to sing for Born Against, a hardcore band from New York (but not a "New York hardcore band" as Born Against's members were nowhere near hard enough to earn this title) and his insight into the evolution and meaningfulness of (mostly) American hardcore and punk music and scene is clever. Although I was not really familiar with a lot of the bands he wrote about (since I have never felt close to the aesthetics of US hardcore punk), I enjoyed perusing his reflections. Beside, McPheeters devoted a chapter to Discharge, the most influential band in punk history (just a factual remark and therefore not open to debate), and being a massive fan, articles about Discharge usually have my undivided attention and I was curious to see what perspective someone who grew up revering American hardcore might have about Discharge. One thing that struck me is that he did not call Discharge a hardcore band but rather always characterised them as a punk band. From my point of view, if the band's punk-as-fuck background and attitude made the latter utterly obvious, the hardcore tag is also relevant to Discharge. In fact, you could argue (like I do) that Discharge were one of the first real hardcore punk bands. I am well aware that many would disagree with this claim, that it might be met with incredulity, shock, well meaning worries for my mental health, or on the contrary open threats of tarring and fathering if I ever get the silly ideas to visit the US of A.

 

Considering Discharge as an original hardcore band is not preposterous however. It's true that the hardcore tag often conjures up images of boyish athleticism, tattoos, cropped hair and trainers rather than charged hair, studs, cider and factory chimneys. But, the petty and hollow obsession with fashion notwithstanding, if you postulate that hardcore punk is in essence the bare and primal expression of anger, a representation in context of a particular aesthetic of anger, then Discharge really much fit the bill. Perhaps it is all a matter of terminology and what you intend the hardcore qualifier to signify. It can be performative. You are a hardcore band because you claim to play hardcore music. It can also merely be a metonymy for a scene or parts of a larger scene, to a group of like-minded who are or were involved in hardcore to some degree. Or it can be used as a term summarizing an artistic project, like in Discharge's case, intent on turning social, political or personal anger into "noise-not-music" music without much consideration for musicality or tunes (which does not imply a lack of catchiness).

 

While thinking hard about the metaphysical consequences on the broad punk universe that such an auspicious intellectual position must have, my mind drifted to shores closer to the ambitious and meritorious work recently started on Terminal Sound Nuisance. The aesthetics of anger... What is the angriest-sounding crust record of the 00's? Not the heaviest or the fastest, but the most furious, the record that sounded like a vicious assault to the senses, one that, however much you warranted the attack, left you dizzy, haggard, disoriented, battered, teetering on the edge of abyss or of harsh noise music. After some meditation, I came to the conclusion that Flyblown's The Fear and the Fury Lp may very well be the most intense crust bollocking that the noughties have produced - but I suppose this is highly subjective and it depends on the material conditions of the first listen and how well you relate to the style of aural butchery that Flyblown generously inflicted upon the punk community. 

 A prime example of the "Can you decipher the evil font?" challenge

 

Flyblown were not a band prone to mess around. Or fool around. Or arse around. Or fuck around. They would go directly for the throat and, to borrow from the great wrestling tradition, would chokeslam the listener into oblivion. Flyblown started in 2004 and, while I am not completely sure about the exact lineup (and of possible changes thereof), the band was made up of members from Morose and the mighty Scalplock, one of Britain's most furious and fastest Infest/Dropdead-type hardcore band, and I think they were located in the English South-East. From what I can gather Pete Giles, from Scalplock (and, in the late 80's, in an early death-metal band Azagthoth alongside Shane Embury), was the mastermind behind Flyblown, a band that started out as a punishingly fast hardcore thrash band, not unlike their aforementioned predecessor, as their first Lp, Genocide, released in 2004 through On the Verge records (the band's label I presume since it only released Flyblown and Scalplock material) and their split Ep with Disclose, can attest. Flyblown's last venture into the brutal realms of nasty blasting hardcore was a ten-song session recorded in April, 2005 (coincidentally this unreleased recording was just uploaded last month onto youtube as were Flyblown's two albums only last week on Tadpole Records's channel). However, it appears that Flyblown were a fast-moving unit and, sometime in 2005, they switched to a (very) heavy pummeling d-beat approach and accordingly wrote a new set of songs (only the referentially-coined number "The doves do not fly here anymore" was kept ans reworked) that would constitute their second Lp The Fear and the Fury recorded and released in 2005, that powerfully demonstrated that, indeed, this lot was definitely not arsing around and had an urgent message to deliver forcefully.

When trying to recall when I first heard or read about Flyblown, my memory becomes a little hazy but I do remember a local old-timer recommending this Lp to me with the argument "They are a British d-beat noize band from the UK, you're bound to like it", which was a valid enough incentive. Being a man of simple - not to mention self-evident - tastes, this short presentation from a venerable punk did not fail to grab my precious attention and I proceeded to track the record, a fast endeavour since I seem to remember that this benevolent friend (may the Gods of Dis bless you) sold it to me. A smooth, possibly planned beforehand, transaction. At first, I was a little bemused and even a tad suspicious that someone as capable would be willing to sell what was, in his own terms, a solid record. I was right to be undeterred by such oddity though and pretty much expected a slab of Disclose-influenced d-beat crust punk, but even such a sound prognosis left one unprepared for Flyblown's The Fear and the Fury as it instantly sounded like a massive kick up the arse when I first played it. The Lp almost sounded too relentless at times, not necessarily because of the songs taken individually, but because Flyblown never let the pressure and the music's intensity does not decrease. Pauses between songs are rare (that's the reason why I ripped the album into eight tracks only although there are actually seventeen songs on the album) and tracks, in a narrative effort, are often tied together with loud feedback and spoken parts. The Fear and the Fury sounds like a full immersion into a pool of political anger, a tornado of d-beat crust violence, it enraptures the listener and only let go when the bollocking is deemed solid enough (after about 25 minutes actually). As much as I love this album and would tend to hail it as a minor classic of the genre, as much as I can extol its virtues of sonic punishment combined with relevant political comments, this is not an album I would encourage listening to on a daily basis (even a confirmed d-beat amateur like myself would not risk it, or else I might turn into some sort of depressed-yet-rabid Hulk-like abomination liable to rip a perfectly decent and potentially irreplaceable punk shirt). 

                                                                            So 2005

 

On this album, Flyblown opt almost exclusively for a d-beat drumming but the speed can vary from the traditionally-paced "just like" d-beat to the faster savage crust version. However all shades are played with the same level of fury and the drummer hit as hard as he can (especially on the poor cymbals), as if his life depended on it (and who knows, he might have been blackmailed to play in the band for all I know). The guitar's sound is indeed well distorted and very aggressive but not so much as to be undiscernible, dirty but powerful like a world-ending tsunami. The vocals can be something of a deal-breaker depending on where you stand on the subject of aural torment and how much angry growling you can take in one sitting. Pete's vocals are quite monotonous and atonal, they don't really follow the groove of the music, however they sound very extreme, harsh and anguished like a litany of pain and outrage (they have been described in a review from the Collective Zine website as emanating from "a nutter with an axe" which is fair enough). They remind me quite a bit of Masskontroll's actually. As mentioned the music revolves around the crusty d-beat school of noize and this reliance shows a strong Swedish influence (Warcollapse or Skitsystem come to mind) but with more distortion, not unlike what Electric Funeral or Giftgasattack would be doing a couple of years later, and, while I'm at it, I would also throw in the crasher crust stimulation of Atrocious Madness and even the sweeping crust power of SDS. Overall there is a dark and violently desperate vibe blowing throughout the work and the intensity of the delivery and of the riffing is not unlike Framtid's who are, after all, also a fierce non-Swedish käng hardcore band (though Flyblown are somehow more linear). Another important source of inspiration can be located in the harder tradition of UK anarchopunk band, especially Antisect, and the crucial and passionate political speeches, with that typical anarcho delivery, interspersed throughout set Flyblown apart and confers a more narrative dimension to The Fear and the Fury, though the impression of fluidity and relentlessness given by the feedbacks and interludes connecting the songs already pointed in that direction. 

                                                                            Antiwar

With an album opening on a slow and heavy sludge-like song and a political speech, the fact that Flyblown carried an urgent political message and were keen on spreading it with much force - like Scalplock did really - is little surprising. No insipid metaphors here. The Fear and the Fury can be likened to a scream of despair in the dark night of ignorance, a scream at our disillusions, our self-inflicted political powerlessness, at the manipulations of people's fears and at our war-mongering politicians and the Antisect comparison also applies to a lot of the lyrics. "Innocence is the first casualty of war". Recorded in 2005, this album has to be put in the context of the (second) Iraqi war started by Bush Jr. I remember the US president being absolutely hated by punks and progressives and his wars were extremely unpopular, notably in England who took part in the latest American crusade without thinking twice about it. Vehement anti-Bush songs bloomed in every punk band's set lists. That thick president was easy to hate and I would argue he probably prompted the formation of more than a few punk bands at the time (I doubt Behind Enemy Lines would have sounded quite as good without Bush). He was the new Reagan to some extent and Flyblown's poster representing a scarecrow-like Bush being crucified is a typical artifact of the period (and probably what I like the least about the album). Unfortunately, the insert of the album is very simplistic and with such a powerful collection of songs and lyrics, one could have rightfully expected something more elaborate as it looks a little rushed and there are not even any credits.

The Fear and the Fury (a reference to The Filth and the Fury movie about the Pistols?) was released on On the Verge, like the previous album, and Flyblown would appear on a last and posthumous record, a split Lp with Sweden's käng fanatics Warvictims in 2008 on D-Takt & Råpunk Records, a cleaner effort on the Brits' part but not as intense and grim for it to be on par with today's album. Pete would go on to play in Pombagira while Aaron got to be part of Cease to Exist, Cthulhu Youth, Unloved and the Deathskulls (not sure about drummer Piers) and both of them would record an Ep with the Discharge-loving Realities of War in 2006 alongside members of Burning the Prospect and Steve/Means to an End.

This album can also be used to punish unruly no(i)sy neighbours. Satisfied or refunded.                    

 The Fear and the Fury