For the last few years, Manchester band Goldblade have been steadily carving out a hard-fought reputation as one of Britain’s best punk rock party bands. Boasting a gloriously gritty bass sound, guitars as sharp as guillotines and gang vocals that are tailor-made for the pits of pubs and clubs across the world, frontman Brother John & Co. have preached their sermons far and wide since ‘95 and won over plenty of converts to their church of noise along the way.
Their long-awaited sixth full-length LP (not counting releases for foreign markets) is delivered with that unmistakeable, sledge-hammer-like subtlety that we’ve come to know and love from Goldblade.
Opening with the gravelly call to arms that is ‘This Is War!’ The Terror Of Modern Life is a record for those of you who miss the no-frills delivery of old-school punk. ‘Guilty’ is a fast and furious Zeke-like ripper, ‘My Mind Is Like An Atom Bomb’ is a hook-laden (Blitzkreig) bop and the dub and rock steady-laced ‘Serious Business’ proves there’s much more to John Robb’s mob than straight-up sonic thuggery. The feedback-drenched, freeform jazz punk jam that is the title-track falls a little short (and goes on a little long!), but the likes of the bombastic ‘They Kiss Like Humans, Act Like Machines’ and the jagged, new wave-y ‘The Shamen Are Coming’ are powerful indeed.
In an era where the government of Goldblade’s homeland merrily spunks 10 million quid on a funeral for a bloody-minded, bloody-handed politician (the will of the people be-damned) I think that Brother John’s hymns are needed now, more than ever.

Key Track: ‘Guilty’