The GC5

Never Bet the Devil Your Head (2002)

moldy

Imagine a swift kick in the teeth, and then think about it happening thirteen more times in a row, that is how I felt listening to this record and I only came back asking for more. This is the band that is going to save punk from being and becoming just another marketing trend This is punk rock the way it should be played, with speed, aggression, intelligence, and heart. The GC5 play a street punk/Oi type music, but they do it the right way without allowing their music to become redundant and boring with lyrics that are nothing more than a thuggish right wing babbling. Imagine early Rancid, the Swinging Utters, Social Distortion, and the non-Irish parts of Dropkick Murphys mixed together and singing songs of social and political discontent, working class pride, leftist politics, and antiestablishment outrage with the drive and urgency that I haven't heard since the hey days of punk.
"Broken Bones and Death Trips", Straight Outta Luck", and "Tear Down the Town" show the aggressive speed and power of this band, that I am sure will get the pits moving and the kids flying. "Breaking Down" has a guitar sound that really reminds me of "The Gauntlet" by Dropkick Murphys, which isn't that surprising since Ryan Foltz of DKM produced and played organ and mandolin on the album.
Yet, in the middle of this chaos and fist pumping anthems, there are 2 almost ballad like songs "Lies and Prophesies" and "When All Else Fails", these were two of my favorite tracks, it actually reminded me a lot of the slower Social Distortion songs. Both songs are those slow sing along and just make you think about life and they were just really relaxing to me.
This is a great cd, every song on here just is what punk should be, you should get this if you like any sort of street/Oi/hardcore/punk. This is one of my favorite albums of this year, and will probably be near the top of my top ten albums of this year. If you consider yourself a punk you should be listening to this right now, and until you do I will continue to be more punk than you.