We are the rats and we run this town

Gallows - Death Is Birth
2012, self-released

Brittish punk act Gallows return with some sorely needed new material, this time with new vocalist Wade MacNeil (ex-Alexisonfire) and a slightly different twist to their modern take on hardcore/punk/whatever. These four new songs are more direct than the band's previous material and definately more punk in both tone and attitude. In part, this is due to the the new vocalist; the mid-to-high range rasp in his voice and his distinctly punkish delivery and enunciation, but also has to do with the fact that these songs are crisper, shorter and more to the point than their earlier material. Opener Mondo Chaos is an old school sing-along midpaced number with a great, instantly memorable - and sweary - chorus and an awesome faster-paced UK Subs kind of feel to it. Of course there are lots of metallic hooks and riffs but the overall feel is that of snotty punk kids flipping you the finger and kicking your teeth in, just for the fuck of it.