The Dissidents

Reviews

The Dissidents / Vitrolic Response split EP

Cool split between bands from the US and England. The DISSIDENTS feature MISCHIEF BREW’S former bass player on drums and play your typical sloppy punk rock, but the vocalist is so intense and charismatic that it brings everything together. A true pissed-off poet, and the kind of singer I’m sure a lot of bands wished they had. Seriously great stuff. VITRIOLIC REPONSE plays classic UK hardcore and sound like a modern GBH with barking vocals, but also incorporates doom/black metal elements, like slowing the tempo and using sinister arpeggios. Both bands sound different enough that it creates a great dynamic.

The Dissidents The Dissidents demo cassette

The context is the fertile Philadelphia scene, where members of bands like MISCHIEF BREW, WITCH HUNT, the PIST, and MANKIND?, among others, came together to create music in the midst of a rather bleak socio-political landscape. The band is the DISSIDENTS and the result is this demo that shows a fully cohesive band, generating a melodic sound, even sing-along-y, but powerful enough to create the much-needed liberating pogo. The lyrics are political, attacking issues such as police abuse, racism, the treatment of immigrants, and the history of the United States. A great demo that is just a little taste of what this band is capable of in the future.