The Bullet Kings

[Carl Arnfield]

THE BULLET KINGS/HALBSTARKE JUNGS SPLIT 7” (35)
by Woodstock Punkrock on Saturday, December 1, 2012 at 12:11am ·
THE BULLET KINGS/HALBSTARKE JUNGS SPLIT 7”

Here we have a new German release on 7” Red vinyl from The Bullet Kings from Bolton and Halbstarke Jungs from Gräfenhainichen in Germany, nice, simple Black and white fold out card sleeve with the Nice Red vinyl disc inside, so to the record deck I go as this is a Vinyl only release (unless you want a download of course from I-tunes etc)
First up the German crew Halbstarke Jungs translates as Semi-strong boys if my limited German is correct



Cheer up

Or Kopf Hoch, originally recorded in German this has been translated into English, although I cant understand the words I actually prefer the German version haha, anyway the guitar slides in and the song drops hard and heavy its powerful, packing a big punk metallic sound, twisted and harsh this is oi, punk, street punk, brutality at its best, a fast pace with the drums pounding out a constant backbeat keeping your attention and the bass and guitars shred hard, nicely mixed taking no prisoners this is what it is, no pretension, no faking just Hard music, vocals are loud, aggressive and full of bite as you would expect, nothing new but done well and that’s the whole song its nothing new but so fucking what they do it well.

Nothing to lose

Which is nichts zu verlieren ok once the brief intro is over this bursts in harder and more forth right than the last track, very similar in style and sound with added metal guitar work, for me it lacks a chorus a singalong fists in the air part, you know the bit where I can join in haha,well theres a brief hey hey section but its over too soon, the solo goes on abit for me and the ending is drawn out and over long for me, I would of preferred it cut shorter, but thats me, compared to the last song and some others I have heard from there reportoire this is a weaker song and I would of thought to showcase the band another song for me would of been the way to go.

Well the first track I love, the secomd not so much but I have enjoyed listening to the band and if they come over to the Uk or if i go over to Germany would definantly like to see them live.

On the flip side we have The Bullets Kings, 3 seasoned Music maurauders back from a short intermission.



Godforsaken Town

I know this song well and its a Gruff as Fuck piece of full on Punk rock with a little bit of Rock, Backforth vocal on the verse between singer Will and....Will and joined by Carl on the chorus to make sure the doors are battered down as the bullet kings power through, the song is short sharp and to the point, short shredding solo, drums that batter your ribs and the only niggle I can find is the section when Will seems to struggle getting the title out at high speed, for me would of preferred that it not be there, other than that its still a quality song and a good showcase for the band who have alot more to give

Arab Spring

Slower Pace on this one as the guitar leads the way into a pounding, slow and menacing, rocking tune, with a dark and sinister edge to the snarling gravel as it spews forth, the pace works really well for these guys, and compliments the sound of the band, again a nice short guitar break, love the sound clip spoken mid section, and the shout along chorus to get ya teeth into, again a song I have heard before but still a great slab of Bullet kings, its moody as fuck and fits the topic of the song perfectly, when your backs against the wall the bullet kings will not fall!!

Gringo

And finally, the guys so a humourous side a softer, funny 1.04 of great fun I will let you discover this little beauty yourselves but i love eeett..

So there you go a Nice slab of Blood red vinyl showcasing 2 bands one from german one from England, both playing Good quality Music and well worth you having a listen too.



These are the Ranted thoughts and opinions

Of

Woodstock Punkrock

Just An Ordinary Punk

[Carl Arnfield]

end of October already Street Justice Records has released this split 7 ". Limited to just 500 copies in gatefold format as correct for the vinyl junkie! The Bullet Kings of England already among older ones, but they have enough power to show the younger generation where the rubber meets the road. 3 good songs! Between punk rock, OI and Streetcore commute. The last song Gringo is a pure instrumental song, and the quality of the tape you can watch the video while looking for the song "Godforsaken Town" to convince the usual websites. The B-side contains 2 songs from yobs guys who go more towards Streetcore a la Toxpack. The texts are also available in English, gave the song Cheer Up has been around with German text on another disk. The song sounds very accent, loaded the song with German lyrics I do not know, but might almost say that this is better! All in all a very solid 7 "who conjured up both bands, in which the" old "guys from England are winning point with a slight edge! 2 - sickguy77

[Carl Arnfield]

"Magdeburg Punx

Halbstarke Jungs/The Bullet Kings – “same” Split-EP (Street Justice Rec.)
Aus der Klangschmiede von Street Justice Records erreicht mich die Split-EP der Halbstarken Jungs (DE) und den Bullet Kings (UK). Die Aufmachung ist in düsterem s/w gehalten und in der aufklappbaren Hülle gibt’s Fotos sowie die Liedtexte zum nachlesen. Die Scheibe selber ist im Blutroten Vinyl auf 500 Stück limitiert. Die Halbstarken Jungs präsentieren diesmal zwei ihrer Lieder in Englisch, welche zuvor schon auf ihrer Mini-CD „Dissonant“ erschienen sind. Zum einen wurde „Kopf Hoch“ („Cheer Up“) und zum anderen „Zu verlieren gibt es nichts“ („Nothing To Lose“) generalüberholt. Was mir gleich am Anfang auffällt ist die Aussprache. Der Englisch-Schulunterricht lässt hier nämlich grüßen. Dadurch wirkt der Gesang etwas unbeholfen gegenüber den gekonnt gespielten druckvollen Sound der Band. Dreht man die Scheibe, zeigen einem die Bullet Kings wie schön dreckig es sich anhören kann, wenn man mit der Sprache aufgewachsen ist. Ihr Punkrock ist auch mehr von der deftigen Sorte, welcher aber immer angenehm durch mitsing Refrains gelockert wird. Besonders „Godforsaken Town“ hat es mir angetan. „Arab Spring“ kann sich auch hören lassen, ist für mich aber nur ein Übergangslied, da als letztes nochmal ein kleiner Klassiker kommt. Mit „dab-bap-da-bap“ Gesängen und netter Melodie wird durch „Gringo“ der restliche Platz auf der EP vollgemacht.