The Unborn - Slasher - Street Punk Anthems
Skinhead Sounds!
After 2017’s “Apoi!calypse” cassette (later released as a 7”) and the single-sided 7” single “Obey” in 2018, Italy’s one (and only) fiendish Oi! band - The Unborn, is back! Not only are they back, they are out for blood as well with ten, all-new street punk anthems on their debut album “Slasher” for Skinhead Sounds!
Now I find the concept of The Unborn fairly brilliant, possibly because I am sucker for some good horror-punk as well. The combination of mystery (unidentified members, the use of aliases) and terror (the lyrical content inspired by horror, -giallo and post-apocalyptic movies), along with their variation on The Last Resort’s classic cover artwork of “A Way Of Life - Skinhead Anthems” puts a big smile on my face. And then I haven’t even heard the album yet!
Obviously I’ve heard (and reviewed) The Unborn’s previous releases - so I knew what to expect, but “Slasher - Street Punk Anthems” definitely exceeded those expectations! Not only because I had no idea the band was working on a full-length album (though I might have forgotten about it), but also because the band sounds stronger and more sinister than ever before! Tracks like “Terrore Dietro Lo Specchio”, “Non Aprite Quella Porta”, “Profondo Rosso”, “Solamente Nero” and “Ecologia Del Delitto” sound absolutely brutal and terrifying at the same time - love it!
Besides seven new tracks, the album also includes a re-recorded version of “L’Ultimo Uomo Della Terra”, the track “Videodrome” (which is also featured on the recently released “Caos In Italia” compilation), a superb cover of The Blood’s “Degenerate” and an in -and outro - all counting up towards a tracklist of twelve songs.
Packed in a bloody (cool) digipak, the six panels are filled with nice little pieces of photography and artwork, a (very) brief biography, discography and a reference to which film inspired which track - but unfortunately no lyrics. Now get this album out on LP, both the music and the cover artwork deserve it! A killer release for fans of Oi! and horror-punk alike!
