The Royal Hounds NYC – God Bless The Royal Hounds
Oi! The Boat Records / Contra Records
Straight out of New York City hails The Royal Hounds NYC, a brand new outfit featuring both ex –and current members of the 45 Adapters, The Brass and the criminally underrated Criminal. The band just released their debut 12” for Oi! The Boat -and Contra Records and honest to God, it absolutely is one of the sickest releases of 2019!
Though at first “God Bless The Royal Hounds” might sound a bit sloppy and all over the place, it actually didn’t take long for me to realize that The Royal Hounds NYC is a true diamond in the rough. Shining brighter and brighter with every single song and every single spin I pursued, I only heard one anthem of an earworm after another. Stuck in my head for the rest of the day, I could only come to one conclusion – this is insanely brilliant from start to finish!
I am still finding out what attracts me the most to The Royal Hounds NYC – is it the general rawness of the sound? The drummer who sounds like he is smashing his kit into bits and pieces? Those crazy bass-lines that keep bouncing off the wall? The loud, buzz saw guitars that shred their way through? That absurdly sick dual guitar action and ditto riffs? Or are it the mean, tough as hell vocals of front man Fizzy who spits his lyrics out with a poisonous venom? Probably a combination of all, because yes – The Royal Hounds NYC manage to pack all this, and then some, into the seven tracks on this slab of wax! God bless The Royal Hounds indeed...
Now I can name an awfully long list of bands who – might have – influenced these guys, but if you’re a fan of The Templars, The Janitors and Camera Silens, or even The Beltones and The Pride (for some reason the vocals remind me of the latter from time to time, though Lemmy occasionally comes to mind as well) – you’re set. This is it and it probably won’t get much better than this anyway, at least not in 2019.
Now they say that barking dogs don’t bite, but I wouldn’t count on it with these hounds. So better be safe than sorry and grab your copy of “God Bless The Royal Hounds” today, before they bite your fuckin’ face off! A raucous, rough and ready masterpiece that is available on both white (220 copies) –and black (330) copies – a must!
