Demos

Salvo - Demo E.P

Liam McGrady 00/00/0000

Rating: 4/5

Usually I like to think of myself as a cynical, yet cultured and elegant writer, rarely breaking out into reels of expletives- but this demo has just changed all that, it's turned me into an uncouth, loudmouthed mass of hyperbole. That's because this demo is FUCKING AMAZING! OH FUCK YEAH!

Four tracks, fourteen minutes of sheer pent up aggression unleashed.

Until I heard 'Fautline' I was quite enjoying life, minding my own business, keeping out of scrapes. Not now though. Salvo have just kicked seven shades of shit out of me, shouting, “It's no crime to ask the reason why/That the blind leading the blind gets erased without a sign” and “Breathe in the air, you feel your lungs get dusted/You flail around in a lightless pit” above coruscating guitars and punishing drums. Pure, un-adulterated grit.

Talking of grit, 'Drown' is gritty to the extreme. One minute it's all unsure, “I don't knows” the next it's, “All I know is that I want to/Hold you underwater and let you drown”. Vocals are spat from a throat that has been gargling with rusty nails, a right mother of a proto-metal riff grinds away and wah-wah guitar licks attack from all angles. I'm convinced- “Sometimes you hurt the ones you love”.

Now, what's the most painful blow to the body? (Apart from a kick in the balls) Well by my reckoning it's a kick in the shins. 'Bleeding Shins' is painful, painful 'cos it's the truth. The truth is I've been kidding myself that music needs to sound otherworldly, untouchable almost. Bollocks. Maybe I'm taking this song out of context, but to me it says forget about scenes, forget about 'cascading' this, and 'arpeggio' that, just say what you've got to say- and preferably, shout it, through a megaphone, over a maelstrom of squalling and thrashing instruments.

Bringing up the rear, it's menacing, it's undermining, it's 'Vibrator'. After all the energy harnessed to force the first three tracks out of your speakers, you might think Salvo would've run out of steam. No way. This song wouldn't pail next to any punk classic you'd care to mention, in fact it'd probably stand up square and threaten to glass the old bastard.

“You need to see us live” Salvo Press release.

Normally I'm pretty skeptical of bands who protest that they need to be seen live to be fully appreciated. It always comes across as a cop out; live, you can bludgeon the audience into submission through a barrage of brutal noise. In the case of Salvo though I wouldn't dare to argue, they do all the above and more. Please, everybody just acquiesce, for all our sakes.