THE FOUNDERS — No Masters, No Slaves (review)

THE FOUNDERS — No Masters, No Slaves album cover

EP · 2017 · Hardcore Punk

4/5 · 2019-03-04
siLLy puPPy

It didn’t take too long after its initial emergence on the social scene that punk rock had sort of lost its luster since its anarcho-apex of the early 80s before it began expanding its tentacles into other disparate genres with pop oriented new wave and extreme metal becoming the primary beneficiaries of its crossover potential. While metalcore bands like Converge and mathcore infused Botch kinda kept the sound of punk intact along with skateboard punk like The Offspring and NOFX, the anarchic infused rebellion of the Sex Pistols and Dead Kennedys suffered from being seriously watered down when grunge acts like Nirvana and pop punk acts like Green Day rose to international fame.

Despite the migration into more accessible arenas or at the other extreme gore fueled subject matter within the metal hybrids, a few staunch anarchists proudly had returned to the punk roots of its explosive pyroclastic origins and since then have preached the gospel of true liberty, freedom and justice for all through the complete elimination of the police state that keeps us enslaved by a ruling class. One of the bands that has jettisoned the modern day vision of punk rock as a cheap source of memes that look good on refrigerator magnets and coffee mugs is the Philadelphia, PA band called THE FOUNDERS righteously formed on July 4, 2015 in the very city where America gained its independence on that very day some 239 years prior.

THE FOUNDERS is a collective of six tight-knit anarchists led by vocalist Mark Passio who sang lead in the 90s brutal death metal band Insatanity as Mark Rhochar and more recently in the millennial stoner sludge band Omegalord undercover as The Reverend. Since 2010, Passio has become more famous for his complex philosophical presentations covering esoteric spirituality, natural law and his experiences as a priest in the Church of Satan where he gleaned the knowledge of dark psychology which has been used against humanity to keep us all in perpetual bondage and slavery. THE FOUNDERS was formed to be the musical expression of these teachings however despite the band having existed for several years, due to Passio’s relentless drive to delivery highly intellectual live presentations as well as a weekly podcast, the band has so far only released a sole EP titled NO MASTERS, NO SLAVES.

With a cast of musicians more steeped in the technical aspects of metal and other genres, this band delivers a tight delivery of six tracks that are characterized by driving rhythms and bombastic in-yer-face anarchist lyrics in the most rebellious manner possible. Passio enunciates and articulates each syllable impeccably well as to guarantee that the message is heard. While this short EP contains a mere six tracks and clocks in at a meager 20 minutes, it packs a serious punch of heavy duty no nonsense hardcore punk with heavy guitar, pounding bass and drums and Passio screaming his lungs out as he laments about “A Nation Of Sheep” while he incites the spirit to “Stand And Fight” and “Kill The Masters.” The short intro “The Animating Contest” even finds an atmospheric presence of keyboards while a short narration fluffs the listener for some serious anarcho-punk that follows.

While firmly in the hardcore punk arena, this is the old school sort of punk that has the heavy biting groove of Discharge with instantly accessible melodic underpinnings. You know. The kind of punk that your parents listened to in the late 70s when they donned outrageous mohawks and donned leather clad spiky things as a fashion statement. Not one for such gimmicks to distract from the message at hand, THE FOUNDERS are the real deal and an outstanding vision of a modern hardcore punk revival if there ever was one. Steeped in intense philosophical arguments that grace the lyrics, this is well thought out mind bending material that puts all the pseudo-intellectual wannabes out there to shame. This is what punk was always meant to be and although i have to admit i have a soft spot for post-punk, new wave and even love a Green Day song or two, nothing is better than a punk rock performance that puts the anarchy back in the UK, except in this case the USA! Rumor has it that more albums are to follow. I eagerly await.