Shihad- All The YoungFascists

Tue 3rd May, 2005 in Music Reviews

That Shihad are one of the greatest live bands ever is beyond doubt.  To say that they have never quite reached such a level  on record is just as valid.

All The Young Fascists is the first single to be released from Shihad’s new album, Love is the New Hate, released this week in New Zealand. Australian fans, however, will have to make do with this and the Alive EP for another four weeks.

All The Young Fascists is a track laden with all the Shihad trademarks. Cutting riffage and chugging basslines duel it out for supremacy behind Jon Toogood’s always powerful vocals. It is a track that sounds like it could have been lifted straight from 2002’s (then) self-titled Pacifier record. For fans, that won’t be a bad thing at all. But it’s unlikely to convert anyone to the cult of Shihad.  Basically, it’s no Pacifier, My Mind’s Sedate or Run.

While it is far from the band’s greatest moment, All The Young Fascists is still an essential purchase for fans. Non-album b-sides My Heart and Yeah Right are every bit as good as the lead track; the heavier My Heart is probably the best track here. The single is rounded out with an instrumental, Heavy Metal From Early On.

It’s enough to get me interested in the album, if only because albums mean tours, and after all, live Shihad is bloody good Shihad.