In the spirit of Seed of Pain, hardcore pride is back again. London’s Dynamite have released their debut EP, a love letter to UKHC. Named after the classic British film The Italian Job (with a promo video featuring the classic scene from the film), Blow The Bloody Doors Off! is 8 minutes of energetic hardcore taking cues from a range of classic hardcore styles but rooted in the traditions of UKHC across the eras and featuring big names of those.
Opener “BTBDO” features Sam Laycock of former WFA The Flex, the last ones left of the New Wave of British Hardcore, opening up with energy, attitude and vigour in line with their live reputation. Since their demo was released they’ve made a name as a key part of the current crop of great UKHC bands. “War Inside” sees an homage to Dirty Money’s legendary self-titled track with UKHC’s answer to the hip-hop posse cut, reuniting their vocalist Graham Sayle and Cold World leader Dan Mills. A raging riff opens up as vocalist Alex Money leads the group through a track about mental health before Sayle takes over with a verse harking back to his hardcore glory days. Mills proclaims ‘Dynamite motherfucker’ before launching into his own verse over a clean 2 step rhythm. The posse cut is topped off by a roaring solo by Big Cheese guitarist Megan Mills as UKHC past and present link up.
“Dynamite Stomp” similarly brings back some of UKHC’s glory days, recalling the “VxR Stomp” and “M1 Stomp” by Violent Reaction. A singalong for the hardcore gods as Money bellows ‘no gimmicks, no use, we’ve got nothing left to prove, seen it all before, know the fucking score, in every drop of blood I will bleed hardcore!’. One of the most vital lines in recent hardcore gives way to a powerful feature from NWOBHC legend Tom Pimlott (formerly of Violent Reaction and currently vocalist of The Social and Rated X), as his irrepressible bark takes over before both unite for the hardcore call to arms.
The final two tracks are very much about the UKHC present and Dynamite. “The Reason” (not an homage to Hoobastank that I know of) is a hardcore love song with a thrashy riff leading the way. Money sounds passionate as the rhythm section shine. The refrains are reminiscent of the powerful mosh starters of late ’00s-early ’10s Boston scene bands such as No Tolerance and Righteous Jams while they also lead the 2-step of the track as well. Closer “Glory” brings in a feature of the present as they recruit Jonnie Hellbound of Glasgow upstarts Hellbound. The Glasgow scene is another center of UKHC with the Northern Unrest label leading the way with recent releases. His recognisable snarl adds a more aggressive tone to Money’s youth crew inflected vocals, a final exciting balance to finish a memorable debut EP.
Released a week before their performance at London fest Damage is Done, the EP is a split release on UKHC’s most legendary label Quality Control HQ and the aforementioned Glasgow leaders Northern Unrest. With all of these great names of UK hardcore, not to mention design contributions to the artwork from Ola Herbich (of Game and Arms Race fame) and Nicky Rat (currently of The Annihilated and Subdued just to scratch the surface), Dynamite are cementing themselves as a pillar of the scene without even mentioning Money’s collective Concrete Culture. As they said themselves, ‘this is UKHC family’ and Blow The Bloody Doors Off! feels incredible for it.
Header photo by Meline Gharibyan
