ALBUM REVIEW: The Chisel – What A Fucking Nightmare (Pure Noise Records)
The Chisel made quite an impact with debut album Retaliation in late 2021, with their blend of classic Oi!, hardcore and anarcho-punk sounding unlike anything else around.
Formed in London in 2020, they’re back with a second album. and it’s even better, and set to cement them as one of the must-see bands on the UK punk scene.
Vocalist Cal, guitarists Charlie and Luke have been joined by a new rhythm section, Jean (bass) and Lee (drums), since the first album, which seems to have given them a new level of intensity.
What A Fucking Nightmare takes off like a runaway express train with the brief dystopian title track, and its pace never lets, with 16 blistering tracks in 36 minutes leaving you exhilarated and exhausted at the same time.
The Chisel ooze aggression from every pore, with Cal sounding like a pissed off Noddy Holder over a boot-stomping backdrop of swathing guitars and pummelling drums. It’s not just noise though, there’s plenty of musicality here too.
Cry Your Eyes Out is an early standout. A furious takedown of toxic masculinity, it fumes: “You can’t blame the kids/You can’t blame the drink/It’s your own fucking nature that’s the missing link.”
The state of the country and those to blame for it is the subject of several songs. The furious No Gimmicks, anthemic Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet and searing Evil By Evil all have the same ‘us against them’ message. The latter perhaps sums up their feeling best as Cal rages: “Just you fucking wait…”
The Chisel clearly don’t suffer fools gladly. Take Bloodsucker, where Cal tells the pub bore: “I’m counting down the minutes ’til you fuck off”, or Lying Little Rat (Propaganda), where duplicitious friends are the target of his ire as he rages “you convince a lot of fuckers but you won’t fool me”.
All mouth
Living For Myself and Fuck ‘Em are songs of defiance and self-belief, while Nice To Meet You calls out shit-chatters, or, as Cal succintly puts it “two faced cunt, all mouth no action”.
It’s not all angry though; there’s songs about brotherhood (Those Days), and facing up to responsibilities (Cuts Like A Knife), and the pace does slow a little towards the end, until What I See brings us to a close, with another warning about the estabishment: “Blue or red, they don’t care about you/Their money, their mansions and their suits.”
What A Fucking Nightmare is a step up on The Chisel’s first album Retaliation, and will be right up there in the end of year polls. Ignore it at your peril. 9/10.
