FIGHTING 84 - "NEVER GIVE IN" (SoCal LA American Oi! against Communism is back on the attack in 2011, the almighty FIGHTING 84 are back!!!)

FIGHTING 84 - "NEVER GIVE IN"
("D.I.Y."; CD/-R respectively MP3-Download):

Fuck, I became a lazy bastard up here over the last past months due to several aspects of life that really are one of the two things that now follow: 1.) To me there are far more impotant things in life than doing a blog (or a zine or what-so-ever) dealing with music (even ''my'' music is still something of a giant importance for me) and stuff like this; or: 2.) They are just a ''necessary evil'' that needs to be done anyhow and that costs a lot of time; and okay, also: I really lack the motivation to sit in my free time infront of my computer (and over the summer this lack of motivation was even more bigger), sorry, any aspects of any sort of a ''computer nerd life'' are really something incredible distgusting to me and when I have the choose to- for example- go out and- maybe- do some sports or go to the theatre (yes, go to the theatre, don't care if this is now pretty promoting for any kind of street credibility or not) or what the hell else ever than I do stuff like this instead of sit here and wright some stuff down. I prefer the real life, don't care that much about the virtual life. Deal with it. But sometimes I also come to think that being a little bit more active again wouldn't be the worst thing, for example I could check out the comment section of this blog (as well as my ''main e-mail account'', and not too talk about my Facebook site and- especially- my MySpace profile, too) far more regular and far more focussed, because then I wouldn't have missed out on a comment that FIGHTING 84 (All hail mates!!! Oi! Oi! Oi!) dropped me quite a while ago about their new demo being released recently. Sorry folks, totally overlooked it so far, sorry guys!!! So, now I have their demo (as a MP3-Download) thanks to the work of Bernando of the almighty "THE U.S. OF Oi! OF SWEDEN" blog and I have not a single clou about any circumstances of the ''making of'' of this demo or something like this and I also have not a clou if there's a proper artwork of it and if there are (or were) any physical copies floating around or if it just had been released via an MP3-Download opportunity by the band itself. So, okay, that said what is there now to say about the new (or current) demo of FIGHTING 84? (A band that I liked very much right from the beginning- more or less regular readers of this very blog right from the start of it should know about it very well- and also a band that had been presented up here in the past for quite a few times already.) I can tell you, there's a lot to tell about it!!! So here we go!!! My first thought was: "Oh, wherethe hell is the pace and also the rawness/roughness gone?" And I wasn't sure what to think of and about it. I decided to give it some more tries and after just one more try I was all about: "This is GREAT!!!" (At least this!!!) And after the only minus point is that it's far too short with just containing three songs here we go through it song by song: 1.) First song 's called "NEVER GIVE IN", the titletrack, and it showcases already pretty damn good what and how much had changed or better developed in the FIGHTING 84 camp since their first ever release at the end of 2010 back then. The pace is slowed down and the beat is more "relaxed", a great Country Music like and Rock & Roll infuenced melodic lead guitar plays a consequent lead melody through out all the song, giving it a strong rockin' feelin' to it, it's pretty ''loosin' up'' compared to the grumpy harshness and brutal battle scarred stomping of their old mateial. The songwriting is pretty cool, with clever arranged verses and great sing a long styled refrain parts, and also the ''coming together'' of  the great melodic and symphonic lead guitar and the bitter and angry spitted throaty and guttural brutal vocals is a perfect match in the end. The very present and pretty tight rhythm section then is giving "NEVER GIVE IN" a massive and beefy backbone so that the level of force and power is a massive and damn high one. Lyrically it's a huge Fuck off to a lot of crap that FIGHTING 84 are damn sick of, for all what I understand and would say. Hm, somehow it breathes also a pretty nice TEMPLARS spirit. Great job done by FIGHTING 84 so far; 2.) Then follows up "THE TIDE WILL TURN", a pretty fast (yes, the pace is back), a harsh and angry, a brutal slasher dominated by fast and sharp guitar playing, gruff and grim vocals, a energetic and angry hectic pulsating bass and forceful and with a lot of pressure onward storming drumming, comparable to their early ''hack and slay'' material like (for example) "RED DAWN" and on "ON PARADE", and this track is at least exactly that great like the mentioned two ones. Lyrically it's a pissed off track against political correctness and the (really realistic or just percepted?) so called ''communist'' threat, also like their mentioned early songs; 3.) The next and (on this one) final song is called "VENGEANCE TONIGHT" and it's a very british sounding track with a huge old SKREWDRIVER influence in or to it, the catchy and melodic opening riff really sounds like some sort of a tribute to "BACK WITH A BANG" or "BOOTS & BRACES" by the old (but not that early if you know what I want to say with that) SKREWDRIVER, and also the pace and the rhythm structure really come close, as well as the tight to point played precise and pretty marking rhythm section, and if it wouldn't be for the far more brutal and guttural vocals you could think of some sort of an old and early demo song found again these days... but then comes the awesome refrain part, with a amazing guitar lead that really somehow owns a Wave vibe and it causes a hypnotic Trance like rection by the listener and it really turns a good song into a great track that knows no mercy and takes no prisoners. Good and grapping arranged verses, an almighty refrain, clever song architecture, yehp, it's all there, it's an interesting and grapping, a damn good, nah, a great song. What also sticks out pretty much is the fact that the pace is very slowed down, especially due to the drumming, and this is really a great mark of the song, also like the far more clean vocals on or of this one (even they are still, like above written, very brutal and throaty as well as guttural, and this is also a good thing, period). Lyrically it's about violence and retaliation, personal violence or gang warfare, I don't know it that precise. So, yes, here comes the complete package (as complete as a three track disc can be), three great and awesome songs. And it's phenomenal to see how far FIGHTING 84 have developed, especially the guitar work really stands out in the first row of the front, on the frontline you can say. On top of it we do also get good lyrics (no matter if you personally agree on everything said by them or not), and also a petty good production sound, even I would love to hear them being backed up by a more massive production sound and I really ask myself why the hell there's no good label around to give them a proper deal and so the more than ''just'' justified support. (I even ask myself far more when I look at all the crap and utter garbage that so many Oi! and Streetpunk and Punkrock labels used to release so far in this very year of 2011, especially over here in Europe and even more especially over here in Germany. Are they all sitting on their ears? Are they deaf? Or are they just a pack of dumb idiots? Or a mix out of all three opportunities?) Like already mentioned can I say nothing about the artwork, because I became a lazy bastard or so. I don't know if there are still physical copies floating around but you should get in contact with the band and ask for it. I'm looking forward for more to come, and yes: FIGHTING 84 rule!!! All hail!!! (10 of 10 points)
(Contact: http://www.myspace.com/fighting84)

Seems like this is- the damn great and very cool- original artwork of this demo.