ALBUM REVIEW: The Casualties – Detonate (Hellcat Records)
Detonate is the 12th studio album by NYC hardcore/street-punk stalwarts The Casualties, but their first in eight years, and I’m pleased to say they’re still raging hard against all that’s wrong with the world.
The band, formed in 1990, are hardly going to be reinventing the wheel this far into their career, but David Rodriguez (vocals), Marc “Meggers” Eggers (drums), Jake Kolatis (guitar) and Doug Wellmon (bass) affirm their reputation as one of punk’s most uncompromising acts.
Detonate is the follow-up to 2018’s Written In Blood and their first release for Hellcat Records — the Epitaph subsidiary curated by Tim Armstrong of Rancid.
It’s their second album with Rodriguez at the mic, after he took over from original vocalist Jorge Herrera in 2017, and the first for Wellmon, who joined in 2022.
Despite the line-up changes, they’ve lost none of their breakneck speed and intensity, nor their fury and frustration, and Meggers says Detonate “solidifies that Dave is here to stay”.
Influenced by classic UK hardcore bands like The Exploited, GBH and English Dogs, they add a thrash/crossover edge and kick up one hell of a noise over the course of a dozen tracks.
Politics, hatred, war and endless bad news are just some of the reasons why The Casualties continue to come out swinging at authorities and systems that seek to divide.
They deal in fast, heavy riffing, a bludgeoning rhythm section and vocals so ferocious they could strip paint, with big call and response choruses.
The blistering title track Detonate is a scathing blast of anger suggesting we should blow everything up and start again, while lead single People Over Power is a call to action, urging us all to fight back.
Latest single Allies And Assassins is about remembering who your friends are, while my favourite track Brick By Brick is a takedown of politicians on the make.
The only real change of pace comes with Few The True, midway through the album. It doesn’t quite follow the mould of a typical Casualties song; it’s much more melodic, in a Pennywise kind of way, with a great gang chorus.
Songs like Now And Tomorrow, Eye For An Eye and Wake Up, Kill, Repeat are just as likely to make the moshpit go off as classics like We Are All We Have and Unknown Soldier. Make no mistake, The Casualties are back and have rarely sounded better. 8.5/10.
*Detonate by The Casualties is out digitally this Friday, but you’ll have to wait until July 17 if you want it on vinyl or CD. You can pre-order it now from their website HERE.
