Crust and Gloom by Fire to the Prisons is a rallying cry. It is a call to arms. It is a command to kick down the doors of repression and to burn the whole fucking system down. So… nice and easy going for a Wednesday afternoon.
However, it is also fucking superb and makes me want to raise a peoples army and overthrow the government. I don’t care whose government, truth be told, pick one, any one, and when we storm the fucking halls with our flags flying for the weak, downtrodden masses, this will be the soundtrack that accompanies us as we put the bastards to the sword because Fire to the Prisons see a lot of injustice on this world and it is reflected in the Crust and Gloom.
Lyrically, this is a scream for every person who has suffered at others hands for daring to be different. From the trans kids who are persecuted for just being to the poor of the world who are exploited at every god goven opportunity, Crust and Gloom has more in common with the Dead Kennedy’s lyrically than it does with black metal, a genre that hasn’t always been the most accepting when it comes to subjects that go against the old school standard of a pure race. And it’s not just lyrically that I see the Dead Kennedy’s influence either.
While both vocally and musically there is a a very huge amount of black metal pouring out of the speakers, there is also the punk ethic of furious, frenzied short ass songs that punch their point directly into your face, instead of spending seven minutes weaving a complex web of over the top riffing and high spead sections to try and captivate you. Now, there is nothing wrong with that – a fair few bands we cover here do it incredibally well – sometimes you need a swift karmic kick to the bollocks to make you sit up and pay attention and that’s just what Fire to the Prisons proved with Crust and Gloom.
Five songs that clock in at eleven minutes, Crust and Gloom is as violent as its subject matter and doesn’t make any excuses for it and neither fucking should it.
Head on over to the Fire to the Prisons Bandcamp page and check it out for yourself.
