Shipwrecked – We Are The Sword

Pretty Shitty Town Records / Foreign Legion Records

 

The last of the hardcore-Pagans have returned! Of course I am talking about the beast of the North, the wolf hybrid men, the fast, violent vikings – Shipwrecked! The Norwegians’ “We Are The Sword” is, perhaps needless to say, a very anticipated release (to say the least), despite that their previous effort – a self-titled EP for Pretty Shitty Town Records – was released only one year ago! But let’s face it, Midgard – or at least me – just needs more than three new tracks, and that is exactly what the band delivers on their latest 12” for Pretty Shitty Town Records (EU) and Foreign Legion Records (US)!

 

Despite being pressed on a 12”, “We Are The Sword” doesn’t have that hefty track-list as their previous 12”, 2012’s “The Last Pagans” had. With seven tracks this is ‘just’ a mini-LP, but when that is the only shortcoming a release can have you know you are in for a treat! Opener “The Gods Know”, that could be considered as an intro, immediately sets the tone for the rest of the album. Sure, it is considerably slower than the six tracks to come, but the cold and dark, Nordic sound that pierces my ears instantly puts me in a trance, preparing me for the war to come. And as soon as that bass drum counts off for title-track “We Are The Sword” you know what time it is and that blood will be shed while riding into victory – or Valhalla!

 

From the fast and frenzied mayhem of “The Fires” (though this song ends with a slower part that sounds absolutely mental), “Excessive Use” and “Live And Let Die For”, all the way through the mid-tempo stomp of the title-track, “Crows In Red” and “North By North”, Shipwrecked carries their crusade on with another dose of Oi!-infused SSD and Last Rights/Negative FX worship, while sounding heavier and more grim than ever before! Especially compared to earlier outings such as the “Arctic Nights” EP and “The Last Pagans” LP, but even in comparison to last year’s three-tracker, you can really hear that the addition of a second guitarist beefed up the band’s sound, making me loving it even more than I already did.

 

Fans of both past and present Boston hardcore, vile Oi! music and short, but heavy riffs and dark solos should really take note this time around, because this is a 12” you don’t want to miss out on! If Ragnarök was ever captured on a hardcore LP (I’m leaving my black metal collection out of this for a moment) it would sound like “We Are The Sword”! Get this.