UTILITARIAN - Stay Angry EP review

Release date November 6, 2020 (https://utilitarianband.bandcamp.com/album/stay-angry-ep)

Surprisingly, we have Utilitarian back at work with a new EP (Stay Angry) just six months after their amazing Fight War, Not Wars. Destroy Power, Not People full length (reviewed previously) was released. Their press release states that the band was brimming with ideas given the sad state of global affairs, so they were able to pull together this five track, twenty-one minute release in quick fashion. Nothing has changed on the sound front; what you get here is a confrontational take on punk metal, the vocals shouted, but clearly enunciated, so that you can understand the band's political stance ... "anarchy is justice".

That said, there's been a slight change-up on the writing front, as there's a pinch more metal and the overall speed of the EP has been eased back a bit, via the interjection of more mid-tempo sections. There's also more lead guitar work, and the inclusion of Dead Kennedys cover "Police Truck" with its atypical (faux-surf?) lead guitar work embellishments. That said, this still sits firmly in the politically-active, ultra-confrontational extreme genre. Utilitarian remain very pissed off.

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