Awakening the anarcho-punks with their first album in over a decade

Anarcho-punk legends Subhumans are back with a vengeance with Crisis Point, their first new album in over a decade on Pirate’s Press Records. Since arriving on the scene in 1980 with “The Day the Country Died,” Subhumans placed their stake in the UK, creating fast and furious, politically charged songs and their new album is no different.

In Crisis Point, singer Dick Lucas covers everything from Brexit and Trump to pollution and global warming. Thrashing songs like “Follow the Leader” have all the makings of a fist-raising anthem. “Learn by example of people with guns/ shooting their mouth off for the freedoms they’ve won,” Lucas yells, asking the listener, “how much can you be controlled?” “Punk Machine” features a catchy guitar lick that’s sure to kick up any mosh pit, with people joining in the lyrics, “it doesn’t work it’s just control!” It’s the perfect punk anthem for the modern-day anarchist.

Opening track “Terrorist in Waiting” sets the tone for the album, which is less than 30 minutes of pure punk fury. Fast-paced drums and open power cords warn the listener a storm of change is coming. It’s one of the strongest tracks on the album, leaving the listener with a wailing guitar solo and some food for thought with the lyrics, “its national security/ its protection for the free/ but who’s secure and above the law? It isn’t you or me.”

This raging flurry of an album is packed with political punches that are over in a flash. “Thought is Free” ends the album on a stirring note with an anthemic, metal-inspired breakdown as the band chimes in, “thought is free.” The lyrics, “if we refuse to play along/ they lose the thought control,” leave the listener feeling inspired to challenge political and societal norms and meet the band at this Crisis Point.