On ‘FEAR OF ROMANCE’ might just see Christmas climb the greasy ladder of success and MAx might just have found himself the lineup to do the name justice because on ‘Fear Of Romance’ they’ve broken free of the pure hardcore sound and branched out and created a melting pot of punk rock n roll with influences from pure hardcore to Turbonegro and beyond. the songwriting has taken a step up as well and the production is really sympathetic to the music giving the instruments a bright and clear path to your ears. This isn’t a muddy lo-fi DIY project it’s one that’s been painstakingly poured over and a lot of hard work has been given to the songwriting and all-round mix making this head and shoulders the best record in the Christmas arsenal.

The album kicks off no it literally kicks off sounding like a serious contender to the likes of Zugly on ‘Always Keep Giving Up’ as they really do slam the hammer down, magnificent opener driven by the phenomenal rhythm section.

Power and a great arrangement make ‘Thirsty and Disgusting’ a brooding pounding co-pilot for the opening track. They’ve lost none of their hunger and passion that much is obvious. The metallic ‘Maggot’ is a real earworm (or should that be ear maggot) but the title track is up next with a blood curdling riff and groove.

‘This Means War’ is a speaker busting grunt of gargantuan proportions as the Bass and Drums ramp the album up a notch or two. The middle of the album does relent in its pace and bark and ‘Smart Jokes’ is melodic and twisting and turning on the intro with a champion intro leading to the albums finest moment thus far and that’s saying something when its been this good so far.

‘Big Fish’ mixes it up with the choppy guitars and piano intro before kicking right off. Theres a happiness in the guitar melody of ‘Trainwreck’ with its big chorus and party gang vocals another really good song. ‘Burn Piggy Burn’ is a masterclass in modern hardcore before ‘Over You’ cruises through the gears with another anthemic chorus for you to throw yourself around the pit to.

Leaving ‘I’m Not Alright’ to grind us home on a wave of Bass and Drums before the riff joins in swinging. Max has upped his lead vocals as well and conducted a real banger for the end of 2024. One of the last releases in the year and it’s fair to say one of the best hardcore punk rock albums you’ll hear all year no question, It’s short and oh so sweet with a slick and complimentary production that lifts these songs up high and I would be doing an injustice to the underground if I didn’t highly recommend ‘Fear Of Romance’ its a pit busting banger from one to twelve, there I zero chaff here just top tunes. Buy It! Merry Christmas ya filthy animals.

Buy Here

Author: Dom Daley