BillyBio – Leaders And Liars
AFM Records
Release Date: 25/03/2022
Running Time: 42:38
Review by Rory Bentley
8/10
I need a vest, chain and a bandana stat! BillyBio has dropped a new album and I’ll be damned if I’m spin-kicking in this stupid Ensiferum shirt I’m wearing!
You know the drill by now, I love Hardcore, I especially love NY Hardcore and beat downs and gang chants are my shit. I also obviously love Biohazard, so Billy Graziadei’s excellent decision to go solo in lieu of Biohazard getting their shit together made me very happy in 2018, with that iconic bark and jackhammer right hand guaranteeing a concrete ass kicking New York style which is exactly what we get on “Leader and Liars”.
If that sounds like it’s not for you I’d suggest you skip this one but if that makes you feel like you want to headbutt the nearest wall and destroy your place of work, then this will see you right. You want songs about wanting to snap people like a twig after you’ve been patient with them? ‘Blackout’ has got you covered with a rousing chorus and macho rapping over a searing crossover riff. You want somebody to be angry with an authority figure over a head-snapping punk attack? ‘Leaders and Liars’ will stick it hard to whatever corrupt douchebag you’d like to give a haymaker to. How about if you need a pep talk to pick you up out of the mud from an angry tattooed lad shouting in your face? ‘Turn The Wounds’ will see you right my downtrodden friend.
There’s nothing wrong with doing what it says on the tin if the tin is full of rousing metallic Hardcore that has all the menace and nostalgic joy of the early 90’s with a modern gut-punch of a production job. The riffs are front and centre, the drums slap you round the chops and Billy sounds as commanding as ever. He has a great way of introducing a melodic sing along hook to a song without ever dropping the intensity, possessing an alpha male grit that never sacrifices clarity or feels like forced machismo. Although this is the core makeup of the record, Billy’s not afraid to throw a few surprises that distinguish his solo career from his day job.
There are some very well-placed Alice In Chains style eerie harmonies in ‘Fallen Empires’ and ‘Leaders and Liars’ that add an extra sense of menace to the melodic sections that work beautifully with sludgy riff work that Jerry Cantrell would be proud of. On the more upbeat end of the scale the posi-vibes of ‘Generation Kill’ and ‘Our Scene’ provide the answer to the question “what would The Offspring sound like if they had gang signs tattooed on their knuckles?” These upbeat and almost poppy excursions are once again prevented from sounding soft by the band playing them at a million miles an hour and Billy still singing like he’s passing a kidney stone.
The pacing of the album is excellent throughout as interludes ‘Sheep Dog’, ‘Just in The Sun’ and ‘Remission’ (the latter two featuring stirring female vocals), break up the record nicely and stop the faster numbers blurring together and tiring the listener. By the time you get to final fist pumping strains of ‘Cyanide’ you’ll wonder where the time went.
Essentially this record has the potential to keep everyone happy, serving up enough familiar fun to satisfy Biohazard diehards without the pressure that the legendary name brings. If Billy’s plan is to keep churning out songs and releasing albums of this quality whenever he needs to express himself, I’m more than happy for Biohazard to take all the time they need to get on the same page. This is good, dirty fun and I’ll take another of these pick me ups in two years’ time please Billy!
‘Black Out’ Official Music Video
TRACKLISTING:
01. Blackout
02. Fallen Empires
03. Leaders and Liars
04. Lost Horizon
05. Turn the Wounds
06. Sheepdog
07. Deception
08. Generation Kill
09. Looking Up
10. One Life to Live
11. Our Scene
12. Just the Sun
13. Enough
14. Remission
15. Cyanide
LINE-UP:
Billy Graziadei – Vocals, Guitars
Fred Aching Rios – Drums
Ra Diaz, Dan Manca – Bass
Dan Palmer, Robbie Davidson – Leads
LINKS:
Disclaimer: This review is solely the property of Rory Bentley and Ever Metal. It is strictly forbidden to copy any part of this review, unless you have the strict permission of both parties. Failure to adhere to this will be treated as plagiarism and will be reported to the relevant authorities.