The Destructors "The Somme"

(Rowdy Farrago, 2016) The Battle of the Somme lasted almost five months and a million soldiers were injured or killed in not only one of World War I's deadliest events, but also in THE history of The World (Only I We Have). So that battle is too big a subject to tackle in an hour of scuzzy pub punk. So how about just the first day of the battle? Well, about 20,000 British soldiers died on that first day, so that's a bloody fistful as well. But the Destructors are up for the brutal task. Most of this record is their signature bombast, and they jump into the death and destruction with sonic fury. A few of the songs were a little too 90s-sounding to my tastes, with touches of White Zombie (and worse bands) but this is such heavy subject matter that the idea of an excess of approaches/styles/songs seems appropriate. They do period soldier sing alongs (with battlefield sound effects), pub punk, and even Motown (their take on Edwin Starr's  take on, "War," they also bring the Jam down to their level, and tone down a Motorhead song on the subject). Destructors are irreverent (funny wordplay about dismemberment and loss of limb) outraged, and ugly, all commemorating a Century old massacre and bringing it back to ugly life so today's punks don't forget. That's what this album is good for (ungh!).