*** Oi! Oi! AUSSIE ROCK & ROLL ***

R*U*S*T - "LEAN MEAN STREET MACHINE"
("Pug Music"; CD):

Did I already mentioned that currently Australia, the continent Down Under, is only damn fucking hard (if anyhow) to beat when it comes to Oi!, Streetpunk, Streetrock, and Hardcore music, it's awesome how many fantastic bands they do have down there, BULLDOG SPIRIT, THE CORPS, MOUTHGUARD, MARCHING ORDERS, SLICK 46, TOE TO TOE, FOOTSOLDIER, PLAN OF ATTACK, THUG, oh, and so many more, it's so damn great that a lot of these outstanding acts today reach us in the old world here without bigger problems or costs, thanks to a lot of enthusiastic labels. Thumbs up!!! And what I also think is so damn great is the fact that down under there this whole 'Keep it true!' scene police crap isn't a topic anyhow, what's always great, because a lot of the bands from there (also the ones that are mentioned) do pretty much a damn great own thing, again thumbs up for that, too, and even I'm maybe totally wrong with this that's at least how it seems to me by judging from the music, the songs, the lyrics, and the releases, and this counts also for R*U*S*T and so it brings us to them and this record of them here. I first heard (or read) of them via a pretty cool interview with them in an older "DER ZWERGPIRAT" (print-) fanzine issue, and for all what I know this one here, it's (for what I know and see and so) from 2009 (really?!?) but I got it just back then at the end of December 2010 so don't ask any questions and just read this review here further on, it's still their full length album CD release that's called to be 'current', yoahr, and so the review here is also more than still 'just' justified;-). Hm, I think beside this one here they've also released a split 7'' with the Sverige Oi! band ON THE JOB, but don't ask me via which label this 7'' did come out (I don't own it, sorry guys), hm, I think it could have been done via "CONTRA RECORDS", hm, but I'm not so damn sure about it anyhow and at all. Ah, but anyhow, back to the topic. (Hm, maybe I shouldn't write reviews when I'm that tired, haha;-), ahrg, but damn it!!!) I was really very curious about R*U*S*T and when I got this record it... it took me much too long before I could get really worked into it, damn it, but after I managed to do so, yes, one more damn good band from Down Under, point and fact!!! You like THE CORPS?!? (Okay, I mean, how could ya not, right?!?) Perfect!!! Even, okay, to be honest, R*U*S*T are no rivals (at least aren't it yet, time will tell) to this masterpiece band, but okay, I mean in minimum 99 out of 100 cases nearly everyone (/every band) would loose being compared to a band that awesome like THE CORPS, so no fault of R*U*S*T and maybe just and only a mistake of me, so forget about it. But R*U*S*T do really go in the direction of THE CORPS, but sounding more Oi! and less Metal then they use to do it (today), and yes, again, they do also a truly damn good job. All is pretty dominated by the guitar playing and the huge walls of guitar riffs: Hard hitting guitar work, full of dirt and filth, power and sheer brutal force, pretty varying and rich on variants, but the bottom line is a sick and aggressive, as well as catchy and hymnal mixture out of hard knocking Oi! forward stomping guitar playing and incredible tight, heavy and usually damn fast (Hard) Rock (& Roll) guitar riffing, a big bunch of cool leads and pretty good solos, here and there (sometimes also a lot) Metal impressions, and then you get a pretty complete picture of what the guitars are doing for the sound/the music of R*U*S*T, yehp, nearly everything, and this damn fucking good, no doubt about it. Then there are beside the guitars the lead singing vocals, they do remind me a little bit of the singer of the TOUGHSKINS who used to do the vocals on the "RAISED IN ANGER" album by the TOUGHSKINS, and are pretty filthy, noisy and 'nicely aggressive', but sometimes they do lack some more charisma and could a little bit be more powerful what would also block some annoying moments where the music is just that much better than the vocals, but okay, that's not often the case and so it's not often some sort of a problem anyhow, just some sometimes annoying moments ar to be recognized, nothing more. A lot of great Sing-A-Longs they do also give us here. The rhythm section is a precise and damn strong working, often really nice varying and clever arranged powerhouse, and some mighty crew back ups do put even more beef on the backbone of the music of R*U*S*T. To play their instruments everyone participating in R*U*S*T knows damn good, and also the songwriting is for the most part damn good, too, yeahr, great stuff, clever arrangements and works with the pace as well as the mood of the songs, all good and fine, sometimes it could just even be more pushing and grapping, ah, but let us don't forget about great and funny sequenzes like the "KUNG FU FIGHTING" lead riff to kick off their smasher "FEMALE JAPANESE PSYCHO KILLER", thumbs up high for that!!! Lyrically they do also offer us a big, big bunch of clever and good done stuff, from the Way of Life to (to me) totally bizarre stuff and from there they're moving over to 'All hail Rock & Roll!' issues, they do deal with a lot of more or less different things in their lyrics, and this all also truly really good and not the ordinary boring way. The production sound is a good shot, dirty and filthy, noisy and heavy, great, once again the thumbs go up high for that. The artwork of this CD looks pretty good, and so all in all you'll have to admit that the band R*U*S*T as well as their record label "PUG MUSIC" have done a petty good job. Good work guys!!! When R*U*S*T work on the mentioned few minus-points then they will become also even better, and they do promise us a lot with this album of/by them here, and that's damn good and I'm pretty excited how things will go in the future for and with this band. It's maybe nothing for the 'Keep it true' Oi! Oi! die hard hard knocks out there, but for every more open minded Oi! lad, Bootboy, Skinhead, and Hooligan (with a strong faible for really dirty and heavy Rock & Roll like it was cultivated by ROSE TATTOO and MOTÖRHEAD), as well as for the (Hard) Rockers, Metalheads, and Bikers out there that also like some Oi! and (Street-) Punk music and that also like to sing a long and dance a long quite a bit this album here is nothing but truly fucking damn good stuff and more than worth a fair listening session. Ah, and if ya like stuff like, for example, the already mentioned THE CORPS or THUG then you will do also everything right and correct with buying this album and support R*U*S*T. Ah, and no, "BLACK CATS" isn't a OXYMORON cover. My personal favorites are "Oi! Oi! AUSSIE ROCK & ROLL", "SKINHEADS FROM THE BURBS", "FEMALE JAPANESE PSYCHO KILLER", "HEART ATTACK AT THE RSL", "URBAN LEGENDS", and "ROCK & ROLL GUNSLINGER", hm, so maybe you could start to check R*U*S*T out by trying this songs... I recommend this one to you, so give it at least a good round and a fair try. Ah, but don't think that here you get anyhow some Hardcore, an impression you might get by watching the bandpicture(s) of these guys, no, you won't find it here. Damn good stuff, promises a lot for the future!!! Cheers & Oi! (8 of 10 points)

(Contact: http://www.myspace.com/rustpunk)