Hardcore
The Chisel – Retaliation
Formed in 2020 and based between London and Blackpool, The Chisel brought out their first full length Retaliation in 2021 via La Vida Es Un Mus after a handful of singles to introduce themselves. I first came across The Chisel on a playlist during the 2020 lockdown and on checking the band name I assumed […]
The post The Chisel – Retaliation first appeared on DIY Conspiracy – International Zine in the Spirit of DIY Hardcore Punk!
Artist: The Chisel
Title: Retaliation
Release: LP / Digital
Year: 2021
Label: La Vida Es Un Mus Discos
Formed in 2020 and based between London and Blackpool, The Chisel brought out their first full length Retaliation in 2021 via La Vida Es Un Mus after a handful of singles to introduce themselves.
I first came across The Chisel on a playlist during the 2020 lockdown and on checking the band name I assumed they were an old school first wave punk band I’d somehow missed, only to find out they were a new band who had recently formed. Everything from the name, the minimalist artwork (used on 2020 single Not The Only One, which makes an appearance on this album), the moderate pace and the very English accent of the vocalist had me convinced I was listening to a remaster of some forgotten single from the 1970s.
After listening to Retaliation, it’s clear that’s not the case and they aren’t a one trick pony or a simple nostalgia act. They do maintain an Oi! / streetpunk vibe throughout, reminding me a little of Hard Skin, but they apply this sheen to varying styles of punk rock. From the pub sing-a-longs like “Not The Only One” (reminiscent of Sham 69, for example) to rabble rousing d-beat numbers like “Force Fed” or “Nation’s Pride”, which would give Discharge a run for their money, and also more relatively tame, easy going numbers like “What Was Mine” (comparable maybe to Social Distortion). Further still they step away from the pub punk formula with closer “Will I Ever See You Again”, where they abandon all instruments in favour of an acoustic guitar and harmonica ballad of sorts.
The thing The Chisel never lose throughout though is their Britishness, not in a nationalist way, far from it actually, just in the way they swear for example, you’ll unlikely hear “bollocks” or “wanker” in lyrics by bands from anywhere else, and for this Brit, it makes me reminisce about all the sweaty beer soaked punk gigs in the back rooms of local pubs that every punk from the UK will relate to.
Again, The Chisel aren’t a nostalgia band per se but it’s hard not to be reminded of first wave punk when you hear them, but with songs as good as theirs I can see them appealing to loads of people whether they like that style or not.
Source: diyconspiracy.net
