Iena

Reviews

Iena / Scalpo split EP

At first, I found this quite simple, almost pop, but as it went on I became immersed in the rowdy, dark Oi! grooves. European Oi! and the like are not a specialty for me; I love CAMERA SILENS, I’ve checked out PRISION POSTUMO (not sure I’m even accurate here, but whatever, this reminds me of them), KRONSTADT LPs…I don’t know much. But damn, I really dig this. It’s super catchy and executed very tightly. Of the four total songs, my favorite IENA track is “Luna,” which is actually a cover of LITFIBA, an Italian new wave duo. IENA’s side is perfect. SCALPA’s side is bit heavier, almost like Oi! meets later RUDIMENTARY PENI. SCALPO also does a cover of ROUGH, an Oi! band from Torino, Italy. Overall, this is a great Italian Oi! split. Glad for the introduction!

Iena La Morte Chiama LP

This one completely caught me by surprise and knocked my Docs off. Some unspectacular cover art and an inner sleeve photo of some Italians with too much hair gave no warning for the hardcore boot-to-the-face Oi! onslaught to come. I don’t know if these Florence blokes are familiar with RIXE, but I’ve no doubt they’re well aware of the buzzsaw guitar assault of early NABAT, both of which are well-represented here. I believe the band name means “Hyena,” and the album title translates to “Death Calls,” which is totally fitting as this little slab wails and wails til you’re left calling for your madre, with not a loser track in the bunch. Slay your neighbor appropriately.