Guilty. I'm guilty of somehow unconsciously careening into a narrow and dangerous mental path that's associated new punk solely with the English-speaking Western World. Great Britain, the United States, Sweden (they speak English there, right?) and Australiaâ¦those are the only places good punk comes from, no? The swift slap in the face taking these puerile thoughts to task comes courtesy of the French band M-Sixteen on UK label Fond of Life and the Italian Chorus of One label.
A thunderous galloping rhythm launches the opening track "Equilibrist" that skits forward with the frenetics of A Wilhelm Scream and razor-throat screams that call to mind a wailing Matt Caughthran of the Bronx fame. As with most of cuts on M-Sixteen, the song screams by faster than expected before meeting a wall of feedback and distortion that closes most of the songs on the album. "The Change" follows and is arguably one of the better numbers along with the gang vocal-laden "Violent Apathy" and angular hardcore of "Monster."
Though the Wilhelm Scream comparisons are both necessary and relevant, M-Sixteen trades in the dicing technical guitar work of AWS for many a furious barrage of chord alternations and more group vocals than the Scream have ever put forth. While the native French speakers clearly don't have quite the bitter poetics of Nuno, M-Sixteen vocalist Renaud gets his point across more in tone than words, and it suits the whole just fine.
In short, M-Sixteen's style of new-school melodic hardcore is top notch, and if whispers of A Wilhelm Scream and the Bronx aren't enough to rouse your interest, check it out for yourself.
STREAM
Equilibrist
Rouge
Anatomy
Tenia