Gallows — Grey Britain

Grey Britain

Warner

Aaron Brophy (CHARTattack)

05/12/2009 11:29am

Grey Britain is the most dangerous music to come out of England in 32 years.

On first listen, the album comes across as a post-apocalyptic nightmare of youth gone wild. Far scarier, though, is when you realize Gallows' world isn't a fictional future, but the here and now.

Grey Britain's 13 songs are packed with a bristling, focused fury that's utterly without mercy or light. It's almost like every ounce of generation Y rage — about war, the environment, the economy, the lack of hope — is distilled into the ruthless sloganeering found here.

And Gallows make these slogans with brutal perfection. If there ever were lines screaming to be worn on the T-shirted backs of restless toughs, it would be: "We are the rats and we run this town" or "We hate you and we hate this city" from "London Is The Reason." Of course, the pointed threat "I know where you live!" in "Black Eyes" and the challenge "So kill yourself/because there ain't nothin' else/Go on and fuckin' kill yourself" in "Death Voices" will no doubt have their legions of supporters, too. Likewise, "The union jack has bled away/It's black and it's fuckin' grey" from "Queensberry Rules" and "Misery fucking loves us/And we love her too" from "Misery" also have a certain knife-fight charm.

The album doesn't just succeed on its anger, though. There are some brilliant musical moments hidden amidst the ferocity. When Frank Carter sneers his way through the line "I'm goinggg ouuuuut toniiigggght" on "I Dread The Night," it's just as timeless as any Roger Daltrey scream or Johnny Rotten yelp. The build-up on "The Vultures (Acts I & II)" is the sonic equivalent of a tornado exploding from your speakers, and "The Riverbank" has the most bad-ass song introduction since Priestess' "I Am The Night, Colour Me Black."

Gallows have been quoted as saying they wanted to make the heaviest record they'd ever heard with Grey Britain. They succeeded. Nirvana are going to look like pussies when this zeitgeist hits.

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