EP REVIEW: C O N T R O L – Guerrilla Warfare

Imagine Fred Durst wasn’t such a… well, you know. Still with us? Now imagine he fronted a hardcore band, while also playing drums. That should give you a decent enough idea of what GUERRILLA WARFARE do, even if it is a bit reductive. The Kentucky-based trio’s fusion of rap metal and hardcore has already caught a few eyes, so much so that in 2019 they became the first signing to Jason Aalon Butler’s 333 Wreckords Crew. C O N T R O L is their first substantial release for the label, a five-track EP which follows the furiously political BBB single released last year. True to form, it’s another defiant, incendiary listen from a band ready to take on the world.

Perhaps the central triumph here is that GUERRILLA WARFARE seem to genuinely marry the different styles they pull from. Rarely does this EP feel like a mish-mash of disparate genres, but rather a cohesive and concentrated work. There’s a real swagger throughout, with rapped vocals flying across bouncy metallic riffs and breakdowns. Every track hits hard, and the production ensures that bass, guitars, drums and vocals all sit exactly where they should. Even when things do take a turn for more traditional hip-hop territory, such as in the lo-fi first half of closer How To Breathe In Space, this still works in the context of the record as a whole, and serves only to sharpen the band’s fiercest edges.

Lyrically, pulses are high throughout C O N T R O L. Opener Flesh n’ Bone (SmaLL TaLk) sets an aggressive tone for the record to follow, with vocalist/drummer Garett Hood declaring “I have no king or no master”, and later “It’s us they should fear”. SmaLL HiLLz is similarly antagonistic, this one proclaiming “I watched you die on small hills while I was climbing mountains”. Crucially, while lines like these ooze confidence – bravado even – rarely do they come off as overly cocky or egomaniacal. They have a kind of motivational quality, one which arguably fires listeners up just as much as the music itself.

Clocking in at 20 minutes, C O N T R O L is quite an easy listen. It runs by relatively quickly, albeit with few surprises once you’ve got to grips with just what it is GUERRILLA WARFARE do. Of course, they’re hardly the first to mix hip-hop with hardcore, but the execution is hard to fault. This is a great shout for a work-out playlist, and no doubt one to catch live when you get the chance.

Rating: 7/10

C O N T R O L is set for release on April 22nd via 333 Wreckords Crew.

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