Attestor

Demos I and II

Written by: MAK on 29/10/2020 15:18:27

Angry punk has come more and more out of the woodwork in recent years, whether that is bands heading in a darker direction, or musicians starting newer projects to unleash their aggression. Introducing Brighton’s Attestor, who has emerged from 2020 with some D-Beat and hardcore for us, featuring members of The Barracks, Crash, and ex-members of Teef, Watch cries and Dopefight. Already since February, we have been treated to two demos, so this will be a combined review of them both.

Starting with the first demo, we get the initial taste of what Attestor are about, delivering furious and fast, hard tracks to lose your shit to. “Misplaced Anger” comes in with dirty chords and thick basslines, layered on top of erratic drum beats to perfectly back some brutish shouted vocals. It’s a blast but it makes a point. The blasts get even shorter from here, the next handful of songs don’t even make it past the two-minute mark. Each track comes in like an aural attack, a lo-fi wall of sound, creating such a gritty atmosphere that suits the dirty sound that Attestor throws at us.

Lyrically the topics are as pissed off as the music, spitting venom about greedy landlords and fascists and that doesn’t stop as we move onto “Demo II”. In which the Sussex lads take a stab at fox hunters and political fence-sitters. The style in which they are shouted is impressively balanced from a complete onslaught in verses, but it eases off enough for the message to be delivered across in chorus. The wall of sound approach does make it hard to really take note of the vocals though, the music is so dominating, it makes the shouting sound like another instrument.

The depth in influences doesn’t really vary across the EPs, “Demo II” is very much more of the same vicious delivery of punk that is both fast and heavy. If that is your preferred flavour of hardcore and punk, then it works for you. If you like something a tad more experimental or even remotely melodic then you might be a tad disappointed. It’s just a relentless sound that doesn’t give up. Being the year that gigs got cancelled, it feels like a shame that nobody has really had the chance to witness what Attestor are like live Listening to these tracks, you can just imagine the pure carnage this band will incite.

Is each of the demos distinctive from the other? I’d say yes to a degree, that the latter release is heavier, the chords hit so much harder, especially in “Preach Love” and “Anxiety”, yet more straight to the point blasts of fury. The fuzziness in the production is fluent across both demos, but it seems while the shit year of 2020 has progressed, that Attestor has become more angst-ridden. I can only expect future releases to just as enraged.

7

Download: Landlords, No Choice, Preach Love, Home
For The Fans Of: Domestics, Throwing Stuff, Rash Decision
Listen: Facebook

Release date 15.08.2020
Self-Released

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