Doomsday Still Bleeds Red by Encierro. Reviewed by Mark J. FFO: Uncompromising and savage Neo-crust.

February 04, 2024

Doomsday Still Bleeds Red by Encierro. Reviewed by Mark J. FFO: Uncompromising and savage Neo-crust.

Naarm/Melbourne has a long history of producing savage and classic crust punk bands. Encierro is an unhinged beast of a band, that is very much in the Neo/Emo-crust style with clear throwbacks to Fall of Efrafa, Tragedy, Arboricidio, Habak, Alpinist, Ekkaia as well as Nausea and Antischism. The melodic edge at least guitar-wise adds that significant edge that separates it from generic crust/D-beat. This is one epic and ferocious release.

Doomsday Still Bleeds Red is this band's debut and is confrontational and political as punk bands should be. Jaws of Winter is the vicious opener that begins solidly melodic and gives no sense of the underlying aggression that is about to be unleashed on the listener. We adore the tempo and brutal harmonics slice through and the acerbic vocals in that classic crust/d-beat manner. Next up is The End which comes out guns blazing from the first second and matches the brutal-toned, but super-accurate lyrics. This one has some searing melodic riffs that are very Tragedy peak level, but uniquely their own. Hardcore like harmonies add that flair to the overall confident delivery of savage punk. Similarly, Eden has drama and aggression matched with rabid urgency, bitter vocals and insane bass and drum warfare. And the lyrics are an exquisite example, of amazing, intelligent and essential sociopolitical/ecological lyrics and pretty much what we should expect from any punk/hardcore band:

The Garden of Eden is gone

Now bear witness the dawn

An age of death and destruction

An era defined by extinction

A sinking feeling with the rising sun

Can we reverse the damage done?

We’re burning the prospect of what we could be

and this so-called progress cannot justify

countless species being doomed to die

and we choke on the ashes of what we could be

And this “endless growth” is just an outright lie

Finite resources the reason why we

Drown in the ice as it melts to the sea

and we’ll salt the earth and burn black the sky

Mother Earth is being crucified

Fucking brilliant lyrics, that perfectly match the music and across the whole release we see similar articulate and politically charged lyrics.

Stagnation is a harsh crust classic with a wicked metallic hardcore edge and the rollercoaster of emotion and the tempo is enduring as hell. The song structure and guitarwork are top-tier level, which is consistent across this ripping release.

Doomsday is the longest track and forges a link between the stench greatness of Amebix/Deviated instinct and the like, mixed with the poignant tone of Fall of Efarafa etc. Strap yourself in, this is history in the making; as this is a banging and touching classic. The time flies and lyrically this cuts through so many much-needed topics that dominate the vile actions of the government and individuals-this is so damn memorable. Alerta is the second last track. Although the last track used violin(effectively as well) this begins very lo-fi and acoustic, but very soon the distortion will overpower you. This is very Wolfbrigade-like, with that euro-stadium crust vibe dripping in vitriol. Each track adds to the previous foundation, and the track sequence is so perfect. Foretold Future is another epic tale of the putrid state of the world on many levels and this five-minute banger rips hard. Definitely more on the front foot pace-wise, but also has some sombre and emotive dips which work so well in the middle section. This appealing change both vocally and musically is almost a sludgy version of Nux Vomica with brilliant doom and almost Neurosis type worship. A truly epic release from an intelligent and magnificently talented band. Buy this and catch them live ASAP!.