aaamusic | On 16, Oct 2011

I’m just going to say it: Max Raptor are what UK punk was waiting for, and the latest single: ‘The King Is Dead’ is a brilliant example of why. Opening with a cavernous bassline that pounds the listener into a storm of guitar riffs that just keep getting better and better, all held in place by a solid percussion that takes your rock drumming and ties it to the front of a runaway freight train. Cap it off with urgent, expressive and righteously furious vocals and I think we have the musical ability down to a ‘T’. The song itself parades the band’s ability to play with dynamics and sudden stop/start moments to create a thrilling song, as a quietly ominous moment erupts with not so much as a hint of a time-keeping drumstick click into a flawlessly tight explosion of raw rock riffs and infectious, searing group vocals. From the onset, we are thrown a great example of the lyrical ability of Max Raptor too, as their incisive observational realism lays bare an almost painfully recognisable scenario, one of many from the aptly-named ‘Portraits’.

 

To recap the reasons UK punk needs Max Raptor:
1) They rock hard.

2) They write songs that are genuinely intelligent musically and lyrically.

3) They’re a brilliant midpoint between Gallows, Blood Red Shoes and The Clash.

4) They rock! Hard!

 

Author: Katie H-Halinki