I really can't believe they've conjured up this album at this point in their career. Most bands fall apart due to personality clashes or they lose the magical chemistry after one decent album. These guys are the real deal. This album sounds like a bunch of hungry, fresh teenagers have just discovered heavy music for the first time, but these guys have been doing this for twenty years. If they keep this up, there's no end in sight. Congratulations Shihad, bloody awesome.
Jaz Coleman probably deserves some credit here. Killing Joke are probably best known as that cult 80's post-punk band with a couple of pop hits, but boy do they sound fucking great in recent years.
Fuck I love Jaz Coleman... Incredible in Killing Joke. To be brutally honest, I thought Shihad went through a dip after Love Is The New Hate. But when Jaz got his hands on the entire FVEY recording process ... holy moly. Absolutely killer.
Phil Knight is my uncle: I was standing right behind the camera when they shot the Lead or Follow video. It's weird how we just seems like a regular uncle then BOOM! He's the lead guitarist in a Major rock and roll band famous across the country!!! XD
My top kiwi band. Raw riffs, clever songwriting, bouncing bass & drums. Bonza. Sweating talent. Can't believe they haven't gotten more recognition. Still time...
ok ok ok... im very very late to this... man, here i was thinking home again was the last good song shihad put out... ive been sleeping on this album for 9 years apparently... i am awe struck and its awesome.. im going to sit my ass down down and listen to this album, then im going to go and buy the CD.. yes, i only listen to my music on cd or vinyl at home with my valve tube amp . judge me hahaha
Hahahahahaha you’re trying to say they are more corrupt than Key and his goons? The guy who accelerated the housing crisis and is now working for the banks to reap the profits? The same government that conjured up the Saudi sheep deal? The same government that has totally fucked the people of Christchurch with their dodgy handling of the EQC? The same government who opened up our national parks to oil drilling? The same government who had at least two members who got into their position with the help of different government benefits who then took away those benefits from other people? The same government who had 7 consecutive years of budget deficits? The same government underfunded education and health for 9 years? Hahahaha you’re a joke if you think that John Key and his national goons weren’t the most corrupt government we’ve ever had.
They have both done good thing but there is curuption in both it's more or less even and the eqc bs was not really there fault it just was not planned well because nothing of the sort had happen for a very long time
Miss the good old days of The annual Valve bar concerts before the Big Day Out....Phil holding up his guitar inches from my face, Karl dancing on the floor in the crowd, Jon rocking so hard on a speaker stack he nearly falls off, Tom deafening everyone in the small room.....good times. Live concert Blu Ray??
Chuck Nolan "All the young fascists" is probably my favorite from these guys, check it out! Seen them play live a few times at BDO Auckland, they go hard!
imo churn & killjoy are their best. FVEY is the spiritual successor to killjoy i think and bridges 20 years of averageness. if you can find it, i like flaming soul & gates of steel. also devolve is their thrash metal roots. enjoy :)
Actually Shihad are very left wing. Listen to the lyrics in their music and a lot of it is anti the right wing establishment. They were particularly against the war in Iraq, which of course was a war carried out by right wing extremists lead by Bush. Here's Jon Toogood explaining it... "We were in America while it invaded Iraq and had to play at festivals that were supposedly 'support the troops festivals' when we didn't believe in the war at all. That's what the song "All the Young Fascists" is about - the day we played Miami in front of 30,000 kids at this festival that was originally just a rock festival. A week out, just because of the timing, it was turned into the support the troops show and it was being simulcast live to Iraq. We were on this bill with these really ugly - what we call WWF - metal bands, and we were shitting ourselves. I just wanted to get out of there. Beside the stage was a paintball gun alley where kids were lining up to shoot effigies of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and (French president) Jacques Chirac. That was the weirdest one. The amount of times I actually pointed out to Americans the fact that their Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French and they were supposed to be mates."
The red pill/blue pill is indeed a reference to the Matrix. Neo is offered two pills by Morpheus... "You take the blue pill, the story ends. You wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."
As far as I can tell, Shihad isn't pro left or right, or any other ridiculous generalised political ideology. They're just sticking to being honest about how certain actions/attitudes/systems affect people. Some people like to ignore those effects and live on, others would rather not be affected at all (it's not like we can't manage ourselves, after all. We don't need some "guiding hand").
I remember when they use to jam on Hansen st WELLINGTON was a surf shop, Trinity Roots which later turned into Fat freddy's drop lived nextdoor to the salvation army, it all happened on Hansen st Wellington NZ. 25 yrs ago,n Jon's koro was best tv personality on TV..Selwyn Toogood.
I believthey've hit a new genre of music with this album. For everything it is musically even the lyric content is educational. Like Kill em all. Looking forward to hear the next album this sound develop.
He produced the album (he produced Churn, their first EP, back in the day); he's 'conducting' them here. It took Jaz to whip the fu$kers back into shape.
Loving this new stuff! Was always a bigger fan of Killjoy and Shihad so love that they seem to have headed back to their heavier, perhaps less commercial roots (and imho) more natural sound. Nice work guys!
Awesome, my only question is that how come other great NZ bands like The Black Seeds, The Mint Chicks & Darcy Clay can release stuff on iTunes in America & not Shihad?? I'm from Auckland but I've lived in the States for a number of years. I'll be picking up copy of this when I'm "Home Again"
+Miroslav Brkic fuck that, I told the drummer once, at the pub, that it was a shame that they had to change their name to panda to the USA sensibility, (paradox), as I recall he laughed and agreed, no one has their rawness, apparently in America they were told that there were 100 bands doing their "formula" better. Let's see the cunts do real music like this aye?
Jon Toogood explained one of the reasons why in an interview... "We were in America while it invaded Iraq and had to play at festivals that were supposedly 'support the troops festivals' when we didn't believe in the war at all. That's what the song "All the Young Fascists" is about - the day we played Miami in front of 30,000 kids at this festival that was originally just a rock festival. A week out, just because of the timing, it was turned into the support the troops show and it was being simulcast live to Iraq. We were on this bill with these really ugly - what we call WWF - metal bands, and we were shitting ourselves. I just wanted to get out of there. Beside the stage was a paintball gun alley where kids were lining up to shoot effigies of Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden and (French president) Jacques Chirac. That was the weirdest one. The amount of times I actually pointed out to Americans the fact that their Statue of Liberty was a gift from the French and they were supposed to be mates."
When they were touring in the states, they were put in back alleys with "WWE" metal bands. Probably just bro-friendly metalcore bands or something shitty like that. They'll never get any attention if their audience is just a bunch of narrow-minded meatheads. Having Jaz Coleman on board does perfect for them.
This song...saved my sanity when my marriage fell apart because my then wife decided to cheat on me,now I bought a house and have an awesome missus and she's still struggling...karmas a bitch alright GO THE SHIHAD ❤
