The pillage - We bear arms (2007)

Tracklist:
01. Intro/Better days
02. The code
03. Working man's despair
04. 211
05. Illegal (in 2007 titled as Immigrant song)
06. Blue and the gray
07. Die tonight
08. Hero
09. Persecuted patriot
10. We bear arms

(Update 29 Jan 2012: Uploaded better quality rips of the songs. Cheers Hagbard)

Selfreleased in 2007 and re-released with new artwork by Dim Records in 2009.

The pillage's story started back in 2004. Originating from Atlanta that used to house such great acts as Anti-heros they had gotten sick of the liberal and anti-patriotic tendensies that had started to pop up within the scene and desided to take it back with force.
The band consisted of Josh on vocals, Rob on guitar and backup vocals, Brendan on bass and also he on backup vocals, last but not least Jesse on drums. Their first appearance was on the great Skinheads armed with the truth that was released by American defence in 2006 and they where also featured on the Vol.2 that was released the year after. That same year they decided the waiting was to long and decided to release their album on their own. Getting great feedback on the songs Dim Records re-released it but this time with the great booklet+artwork that i have included in the upload. It has been quiet for some time now but last year i heard that they where in the works of putting together a Condemned 84 tributealbum with other bands. Lets hope that the project comes out sometime this year.

I got their selfreleased album back in 2008 and was totally blown away by it. The quality of the songs and all the bandmembers contribution to the sound is something seldom seen within Oi!. Its pure Oi! with some streetpunk influences but has such high quality that it wouldnt surprise me if i heard any of their tunes being played on radio (well with lyrics like these the chance IS quite slim).

Their first song on the cd called Better days has one of the most catchy choruses i have heard in modern Oi! and like the rest of the album it has really intresting and thought through lyrics. A great chanty chorus with the whole band singing along "I've seen love and hate and unfortunate fate in America/I've been broke, down, had better days in the USA/I was born and breed and shaved my head in America/I'll be old and grey and dig my grave in the USA". This sort of theme goes all the way through the album with constitutionalism, traditionalism, militarism and patriotism being the main focus without ever becoming warmongering and allthrough ignorant like many other US bands became after 9/11.
Like most bluecollared rightwing bands they also pay tribute to the workingclass and the struggle they go through in the economical crisis in the US today. All this over a perfect ska influenced track called Working mans despair.

The song called Illegal was called Immigrant song on their selfreleased album in 2007 (the first title could easily be missunderstood) takes up the issue of Illegal immigration that we here in Sweden can't really relate to since we dont have the same problems as the US and UK have. If you are a blind middleclass cunt you will slagg it of as a somewhat racist song but i must say this is actually more of a working class pride song then the one i mentioned before. The whole workingclass will soon be working poor and the unions will not have a single say if this continues in the states.

Persecuted patriot has some really good lyrics that i will post later on and i just love the way they deliver the message in this pop-friendly song. It's red, white, blue, pissed off and absolutely great.
Last song is my favourite (not for the message but the music) and is about the rights to bear arms and actually use them for what the founding fathers wanted them to be used for. In short it's a militia song directed at the people in charge.

All in all it's a great album all the way from guitarplay, drums, vocals and lyrics and i couldnt find a single song that i disliked on the entire cd (plus the fact that one of the members has a The vaticans t-shirt in the booklet) and it easily puts it in the top 10 of all my US Oi! records. Even if i upload it here be sure to order it from one of the stores i link you wont regret it.
10/10

Download

You can also buy the record at these stores:
Dim records
Pure impact
4subculture