We don't feature much punk rock from Russia on Colin's Punk Rock World. That's now going to change after my discovery of long running St Petersburg four piece The Riot Squad, another of my discoveries from searching through the endless amount of bands on Bandcamp. In December the band, which names Artem Mironov (guitar and vocals), Egor Vostrikov (bass and vocals), Alexander Vasilieve (guitar) and Kirill Bakharev (drums) as its members, released their brand new album Ice Age. It was mixed and mastered by Luke McNeill of The Copyrights and features guest appearances by notable punk rock names such as Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners, Yotam Ben Horin of Useless I.D. and Zack Gontard or Dear Landlord. With that cast of talent guesting on the album, it must be one hell of a release.
The first of the twelve songs on Ice Age is titled Superstitions. On this opening song you can hear why McNeill was enlisted to help with the record with its melodic pop punk sound. This is a simple and short track that's easy to pick up and thus you'll be singing along in no time. The song is about having opinions and beliefs forced upon you and not wanting to hear them. The second song is titled Deaf Reality and features Zack Gontard on guest vocals. This is a great pop punk track in similar vein to The Copyrights or Dear Landlord. It's a song about facing the reality of being a loser, wondering why and wishing for a change for the better. Deaf Reality features an extend outro which stops and starts before leading into the third song, Backed Up Against The Wall. After the pop punk of the opening two songs I'm a little taken aback by this one minute and thirty seconds of ferocious, venom spitting hardcore punk. It shows great versatility as they scream about feeling angry when you're backed into a corner. After this we're straight back into the pop punk and this time some ska even finds its way into Cold World. Starting out with some buzzsaw guitar and some crashing drums, we are treated with a hook filled song about being yourself and not worrying about pleasing everyone else. I particular enjoyed the lyrics in the chorus which go "break your chains, light the flames, don't be afraid being different, be afraid to stay the same." Positive and motivational stuff.
The fifth song is titled Problems. It's a shorter song that again switches back to the more hardcore sound of The Riot Gang, though it's not quite so much of a whirlwind as Backed Up Against The Wall was. It's another positive song that talks about being strong and finding the solution to all of life's problems. Lay Low again takes us off in a direction ditching the pop punk and the hardcore and going down more of a indie/folk punk route with the introduction of an acoustic guitar to the sound. There is a maturity to The Riot Gang here that we haven't heard yet and it's great twist. Lay Low is about the need to get away from the world and finding a spot where you can hide and get away from all of your problems. The introduction on The Chance is epic. It starts with a great building sequence before soon enough the song kicks in. The vocals are delivered at a great pace that gives the song plenty of energy. This is a song that really allows The Riot Gang to show off their musical chops with plenty of musicianship throughout. The eighth song is titled Empty Backseat which is about feeling the frustration of constantly trying to meet your goals but always falling short. Here The Riot Gang revert back to their pop punk sound which I think they excel at. There is again a maturity to the song and some restraint that shows you don't need to go at 100mph to write a great pop punk song.
Left Aside features Yotam Ben Horin of Israeli punks Useless I.D. on guest vocals. This is a more serious song in sound, feeling as if the band are holding back but also managing to pack a bit of a punch. That line probably sounds like it's a contradiction in itself but hopefully you'll understand what on earth I'm talking about if you listen to the song. The track is about having had enough of all the hatred and lack of understanding in the world and wanting to go somewhere else. The tenth song, Greatest Gift, is an upbeat and positive song about living your life to the fullest as it's the 'greatest gift' you'll ever have. This song is just pop punk perfection and my favourite on Ice Age. It ticks all of my pop punk boxes. It's got a great message, it's catchy, it has a brilliant melody and fills me with an energy that makes me want to get dancing. The penultimate song features a man who really needs no introduction but will get one anyway - Chris Cresswell of The Flatliners. Cresswell provided acoustic guitar and vocals for the song Do What You Can as well as co-writing it. The song actually starts out with Cresswell's part as his trademark vocals sing softly over some acoustic guitar. After a little while, The Riot Gang come in and play the song full band style. The addition of Cresswell at the start of the track adds a nice contrast of sounds to the song and makes The Riot Gang's section of the song sound absolutely huge. Finally we have the track Global Citizen. You might have guessed what this song is about just from its title - how we're all citizens of planet earth and not the area between the lines on the map where we happen to have been born. The Riot Gang talk about bringing down the walls and giving opportunities to all. This is a strong and positive message to finish Ice Age with.
Ice Age is a hidden gem of an album that any fan of punk rock should have a good listen to. It features twelve great punk songs, many of which feature motivational and positive messages. Basically you will learn things, be inspired and have a great time listening to excellent music in the process. Why are you still reading this, go listen to Ice Age by The Riot Gang!
Stream and download Ice Age here: https://theriotgang.bandcamp.com/
Like The Riot Gang here: https://www.facebook.com/theriotgang
This review was written by Colin Clark.
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