Backjumper - "Scorpion Democracy" (DIY release along with some labels, 2018)

Band: Backjumper
Title: Scorpion Democracy
Genre: Hardcore Punk/Stoner with Thrash Metal and Noise influences
Time: 14.40 min
Release Date: 26th October 2018
Rating: 70/100












Sometimes they come back! And we're talking about a very welcome return! In fact, I received some weeks ago the EP here reviewed from an old acquaintance of this 'zine: Mauro Garbati. He is the singer of the hardcore punk band MuD (whose some releases were reviewed on these pages) and also one of the guys that runs the label THC DIY Productions. This one, along with other labels and with the same band, released "Scorpion Democracy", the new EP by Backjumper. Coming from Bari (South Italy) and born in 2003, Backjumper is a really experienced band that, throughout the years, had the honour to open the shows of famous acts like The Dillinger Escape Plan, Sick Of It All, Municipal Waste and others, but without forgetting even their participation at the Wacken Open Air 2013 in an edition that saw on stage bands like Motörhead, Deep Purple and Rammstein. Ok, all this is truly nice but...the music?

Well, "Scorpion Democracy" is a little bit strange release. It consist of 5 songs in which there is an angry melting pot between stoner, hardcore punk, thrash metal and noise. The final result is incredibly various and shows a band with many interesting ideas, so the songs are very different. Plus, the EP, that was recorded live in a single take into the rehearsal room of the band, see a continuous alternation between slow and faster songs, and this means that there is usually a fast track after a slower one.

More specifically, the mid-tempo songs are "Scorpion Burger" (that opens the EP) and "This Radio Hit is the Death of an Empire", and both have strong stoner influences with some tunes closer to Pantera. At the contrary, "Trash Bandicoot" (Crash Bandicoot, anyone?) and "Optimistic Nihilistic" are faster and also very dynamic. In particular, "Optimistic Nihilistic"  is my favorite song since it's so furious to contains even a short passage in blast-beat and, in addition, it ends through a genius way by diminishing again and again the pace until a doomish tempo. As closing song, you'll find "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", that's nothing else than a cover of a proto-hip hop/funk/jazz song released in the early '70s by the afro-American poet and musician Gil Scott-Heron. As you can see, Backjumper are able to be a lot courageous with their music!

Ready to be fully released within 2 days (FUCK, it's the first time after many months that I manage to review something before its release!), "Scorpion Democracy" deserve surely attentions from who love to listen to some stuff played with a great personality and unpredictability through an attitude that's fondamentally belongs to the hardcore punk genre. I must say that I prefer the faster songs not only because they are fast and truly intense but also because they entirely represent all the features of Backjumper. Instead, the slower songs aren't so engaging for me also because the stoner genre isn't in my tastes. Anyway, in the past, I reviewed an Italian similar band like Dripping Sin, even though these ones have more metal tunes. Said all this, the release show of "Scorpion Democracy" will be on the same 26th October 2018 in Bari, so, if you can, don't miss this chance to see in action these 4 Southern Italian lunatics. And expect some news about THC DIY Prod in the next days to come since I received from Mauro the physical copy of the last album of their MuD, so don't miss also this review!

P.S.: thanks again to Mauro to posting my announcement on the FB page of his label. In that announcement, I praised to receive more hardcore punk (and connected genres like crust punk, street punk, power violence etc.) releases for my 'zine. So, if you have a band, a label or a promotion agency linked with those genres, feel free to send me your stuff.

Tracklist:

1 - Scorpion Burger
2 - Trash Bandicoot
3 - This Radio Hit is the Death of an Empire
4 - Optimistic Nihilistic
5 - The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (Gil Scott-Heron cover)

Line-up:

Francesco Bellezza - vocals
Vasco Savino - guitars
Dario De Falco - bass
Francesco Campanelli - drums

FaceBook: https://it-it.facebook.com/BACKJUMPER/
THC DIY Prod: https://www.facebook.com/THCDIYPROD/
Antistandard Records: https://www.facebook.com/Antistandardrecs
BAxHC: https://www.facebook.com/Baxhcx