What’s an Anarchogram? Brilliant idea that’s what it is. A fusion of two symbols, a pentagram and an anarchy sign and one hopes The Rotted have put copyright on this design, which they have also used to name their new home grown label enterprise which this EP is released on. The disc itself has the symbol on it and the words ‘No Gods’, ‘No Laws’ ‘No Lies’ and this to me sums it all up. We have the spirit of Crass with a dash of Amebix representing the anarchic side of things and as for the pentagram the very death essence of the band itself.
This is a fun release as it contains two brand spanking new tracks and four covers, one chosen by each band member. The new songs come first and the title ‘Drunk Myself To Death’ is a fitting one for both band and (ahem) reviewer. This starts with a wild cavalcade of whirling guitars before we bomb into a fast as fuck barrage of drums, bass and gruff vocals. It has a real crust punk feel to it but it’s faster and more akin to grind, mixing things up with aplomb and finesse, even if that particular word is not one you would attribute to either styles. Melody is there, it’s just that it is a hectic one and it runs 28 Days Later speed, catches you and starts at the ankles moving up to the knees and beyond. ‘Dawn Of A New Error,’ with the backing vocal squawks, is slightly more on the death, grind-bastard style and it packs an incredibly hefty punch that has me anticipating forthcoming album and live dates like a bit of a sad fan-boy.
I always like the odd cover song if they are done well and these are all corkers. I guess you are always going to get off more on the ones you originally like the best, which in my case is the latter two. Trud picks Iron Fist and the guitar leads shine up this Motorhead classic and give it an anarchic rock n’ roll makeover that is hard not to wreck along to. Ben picks ‘Propaganda,’ not the most obvious Sepultura track which is a plus point. The drumming powerfully enforces the weight and brutality and the gnarled vocal stance has this retaining the impact of the original. Nate has gone for Deathcrush and I can imagine the vocalist thinking him a bit of a bastard at making him do a savage black metal style. No problems though as this is a monster through and through and it’s obvious Ben is loving this opportunity. The original’s weak sound is forgotten too as this is heavier than the blackened pit of hell itself! Finally Tim goes for another favourite of mine ‘Out Of Hand.’ Entombed and ‘Wolverine Blues’ put the Rot in Roll so it’s a great choice and again the band sound like they are having a riot keeping both the essence of the original and adding a touch of their own to it. There is not anything really in the way of fucking about with any of these covers and if you like the originals you should love the way these are done and the way they are essentially kept true to themselves.
So that’s it for the time being until the next album, of course there are some dates coming up and you can catch the band causing merry hell on a full Euro and UK tour in November and December as well as a festival appearance at Deathfeast Ultimate Oct 2nd Germany. The CD is only available at the link below.
http://www.therotted.com
http://www.myspace.com/therotted
