Yakuza極道 Yakuza極道 LP
YAKUZA極道 is a fairly new band from Greece, with members who are involved in multiple other bands and have the sheer intent to play D-beat/raw punk. They succeed putting together a record with blasting D-beat songs that meet all the expectations from the genre, although nothing more. So I guess it is entertaining for them because they wanted to do something that they are able to, and those who always seek for new bands above a certain quality could be happy, too. Without this background info, you too would hear that this is an honest work from fans of the genre that respects all the borders and boundaries of the style. From our perspective, taking the time to write about records and culture, it could be a fair question: why bother? But one of the layers of punk is inclusivity and functioning as a hobby, so if someone wants to play in a sort of uniformed way of a very specific sound, I guess it should at least be respected. Also, this is the worst I can say about this record, since it has been put together well, sounds cool, and the songs are rather close-to-great good than anything else. It’s distorted and manic, but you can hear all the riffs and instruments distinguished from each other, with the atmosphere reminiscent of battlefield desperation. All in place, except nothing sticks out, and that is what makes good things great. Only a tiny part is lacking, but I miss it a lot. Still, if they tour close to you, book them or go see them (they are probably great live), and if you like buying records, this is a safe pick. If you are picky, this record will not hurt nor impress you too much, yet it has all the features to affect you, so maybe it’s about timing and mood.