Limited Sedition
The Molotov
SCART
<www.scart69.net/themolotov>
Send $8.00 to SCART, PO Box 432, Chirn Park, 4215, QLD
Limited Sedition has one of the most relentless social/political edges I've heard in music for a long time. The lyrics are very confrontational but quite poetic, come from a hard-left perspective and are well delivered. The music moves from pumping rock rhythms to tuneful melodies, never allowing itself to stagnate. The words, ideas and riffs stay in your head long after the final chords have died out and the songs are enjoyable.
While this is supposed to be a demo, the sound quality is quite good, all instruments are clear and the vocals are easily discernible. The music itself is, as the band says, a mix of musical styles that combine punkish/metal riffs, techno/rock/breakbeat drums and an original rap/vocal style. Despite the heavy leanings of the music, it is very easy to listen to and even the longer songs contain enough variation to hold your interest without a problem.
Whether dark, punkish satire as in "Go Back To Sleep" ("go back to sleep, your government is in control, watch more TV, look, here's some little shiny toys, and here's another war to keep you all distracted, while you buy, and buy"), the rapid machine-gun lyrics of the workers'/activist anthem, "Hey Ho (Howard the Coward)", the infectious dance rythym of "Democracy The Brand" or the heavy and caustic, almost grindcore feel of "Spit Molotovs" (a response to the Howard government's "sedition" laws curbing free speech), you are left in no doubt as to where this band stands and that for them the music and the message are one.
The rallying call of "REVOLUTION" (whose sound quality shows it to be a slightly earlier piece) and the epic "The Common" ("I got more in common with the people you're bombin' than I do, with you, the poor, hungry and strugglin', I know where they're comin' from") are probably the two most provocative pieces on the CD and would possibly shake up even the most apathetic and jaded of listeners.
Even as the final poetic piece, "Cabal" weaves its almost orchestral melodies and words together ("from the cradle to the grave, from the womb to the tomb, from the dark that we start, to the dark that we move, if all that we get, is the time in between, don't live in someone else's dream") there is never a lack of ideas or of words to express them.
In a time of government attacks on our rights, unjust wars, free speech being curbed and right-wing corporate propaganda running non-stop on TV, radio and in newspapers, it's refreshing and inspiring to hear artists who make their statements outright and use their music to spread their ideas. The friend who sent this this CD to me said they've been listening to it each day on the way to work for inspiration and I have a feeling that I'll be doing the same.