Arson Anthem - Insecurity Notoriety (2010)

1. Naught

2. Foul Pride

3. Isolation Militia

4. More Than One War

5. Insecurity Notoriety

6. Pretty Like That

7. Initial Prick

8. Crippled Life

9. Polite Society Blacklist

10. If You Heard This You Would Hit Me

11. Hands Off Approach

12. Has Been/Has Been

13. Primate Envy

14. Death of an Idiot

15. Independant and Busted

16. Kleptomania

17. Teach the Gun To Love the Bullet

Bishop: I loved Arson Anthem’s self-titled EP. When it came out, there were no other new bands about doing anything as raw and unhinged. It was like a throwback to all those crust bands that have either buggered off, or are shadows of their formers selves. But I’m gonna be honest, the album bores me to hell. I dunno what it is, it just didn’t grab like the EP did, and I was pretty bummed.

Elliott: Damn, I need to hear the EP. Whenever I hear about mainstream thrash I’m nervous. Will it be like Metallica? Pantera? Metalcore? Well, even though this has a member of the groove legends (and by mainstream I mean in the metal community), this is pretty damn good skate thrash with punk influences, with the singer of Eyehategod and Hank Williams III. So, the album bores you? I’ve always known you were weird.

Bishop: I burn out pretty easily with music like this, always have. Saying that though, I'm going to retract my previous statement. I'm giving it another spin and it's actually much better than I remember it. Short, snappy and varied. My worry with albums like this is that everything going to be too repetitive, but each song really stands out. Brilliant, angry thrash punk. I must've listened to the wrong album initially - either that or it's just a grower, but I doubt that, it jumps down your neck too fast for it to have time to grow.

Elliott: It's sort of a grower. I was put off by the weird sludgy parts. The three second stuff, as far as repetitiveness goes with music like this, I don't really care as I'm looking for brutality first, if it's fast and pissed off I don't care. Hank III is one hell of a drummer, and Mike has a great voice. Also the mix is raw without being like the EP.

Bishop: The mixing on this is a thousand times better. Like you say it retains the raw crust sound they were obviously aiming for without making it sound like someone's scraping the inside of your eardrum like the EP. Everything's tight and confident. They all knew what kind of record they wanted to make, and they made it. No mess, no fuss, no confusion. You know what you're getting.

Elliott: Now don't get me wrong I enjoy that mix (Suburban Mutilation's LP comes to mind), but for music like this and musicians like this a more professional mix fits. Drink a few beers and put this on, it works on so many levels! Think they'll ever put out anything else?

Bishop: Maybe. I'd like to hear at least another EP from them. It's one of Phils' side projects though, so it probably doesn't have long before he loses interest.

Elliott: Yeah, he'll be back to Down or whatever crap band he plays in now. I'm surprised he plays the guitar as good as he does. As anyone reading this blog knows I'm not a Phil fan, so when I heard about this record I was thinking oh no. In fact the only reason I checked it out was the singer and drummer, but I was surprised that Phil could actually play. I've never heard his black metal band.

Bishop: Hey, nothing wrong with Down. The new EP was pretty good. Anyway, we can both agree this is a good record, yes?

Elliott: Yeah, this LP is quite good. One thing I have noticed, has mike lost his voice? I much prefer his vocals on Eyehategod's albums.

Bishop: I honestly never noticed. Doesn't sound weak to me so I don't think it's so much losing his voice, it's either refined with age or he's approached this project differently.

Elliott: I actually think it would have been cool to hear Eyehategod vocals on this album. It's just strange to me. I also love the short sludge moments, they go from slow to fast so many times!

Bishop: Yeah, I like the fact that it's not all 100mph constantly. It doesn't feel like an insult to my intelligence unlike other records in this genre, it just feels honest.

Elliott: You know me, the faster the better! But I like that they slow it up and they do it well. Many bands try to do it but it just comes out bad, these guys know what they're doing. Well they should they're all well-known metal musicians! Still has that southern feel - in a good way I mean.

Bishop: You mean not in the "kill the blacks, marry your sister" kind of way, right? I personally don't hear the Southern influence, but maybe that's just my Brit ears not being able to differentiate. I guess it's more noticeable to Americans.

Elliott: Different kind of southern influence, I'm talking NOLA sludge. It just sounds Southern. Blues influence. It's hard to describe. I’ll say this: it has pretty much everything you'd expect from this kind of record, good musicians, good mix, ass kicking thrash. If you're a new band look to this record.