Surrender to Yatsu’s Supreme, Mincing Hardcore With “Appomattox”

Our pals at Roman Numeral Records always have their eyes on some of the most pulverizing shit imaginable. Last year it was Freedom Fist, the Molotov cocktail rallying call of colonial resistance that had all the smoke for the British Empire. This year, it’s all about Yatsu, a Dallas/Fort Worth, TX band pushing a similar manifisto (that’s like a manifesto with more punching) from stateside.

Their new album, It Can’t Happen Here, came out on November 3 jointly via Roman Numeral and The Ghost Is Clear and while I totally admit to missing it initially, I’ve been doing my part in playing catch-up all day, basking in every raucous minute of the LP of which there are 22 total. Across 17 songs, they fling some of the hardest hardcore I’ve heard this year, and it’s not even just hardcore – there’s grindcore elements, some noise, and straight-up metallic touches that make this an artery slicer of an album, complete with cover art from the great Hell Simulation. Today, we’re happy to help premiere their newest video for the song “Appomattox”:

I warned y’all – Yatsu are pissed as hell. This is a song and video that really showcase what the band has to offer. The quintet excel at power and catchiness – a lethal combo. The vocals are in your face, but still completely audible. Guitar and bass are clearer than they have any right to be with how gritty and rough their respective tones are. Drums have a callous, pounding rhythm that never let up. There’s even a dude on digital manipulation to help color in what little sonic space is left open by the rest of the band. This is a consummate hardcore song that really checks every damn box possible.

The video is incendiary, giving us a view of the physical demands and mental acuity at play to execute heavy music like this in such a surgical manner. Band shots are juxtaposed with news, security camera, and various archival footage focusing on America’s very real, very unaddressed gun violence problem. I’m a big proponent of gun ownership and personal protection especially in highly marginalized communities, but “Appomattox” has a more specific and sinister target in mind with its lyrics and themes, haranguing the politicians and other middle/upper-class type of motherfuckers who would rather bathe in the blood of slaughtered mass shooting victims in their police protected suburban homes so they can keep getting that NRA check and not address any of the glaring societal issues that cause these problems. I particularly love the line at the end, ‘the blood of others feeds the roots of your safe spaces‘, which is delivered with layered vocals to help punctuate.

“Appomattox” is just one song from It Can’t Happen Here that really lays into the violent disparities Americans (and so many others) face on a daily basis, unchecked and unhelped as we flounder and drift into a future that’s more akin to a wood chipper. I promise you, you will find solace in Yatsu‘s brutish writing, caustic delivery, and mammoth weight if your phone makes you say ‘what the fuck?’ at the incredulous amount of bad things we see everyday. You can listen to the LP now on your fave streaming platform including Bandcamp, and you can give them a follow on the usual suspects of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.