Disruptive Influence’s debut album Brink of War is for all intents a ‘best of’ of previous material recorded by the band’s current line-up. If the band’s original incarnation taking place in 2011 begs the question, has it been worth the wait? then the answer is, you seriously cannot imagine how much!

The album bursts into life with ‘Angry’ a song about being exactly that in relation to the likes of work and dickhead bosses. It might read as bog-standard punk fare done too many times to mention, except somehow Disruptive Influence inject so much energy, life and buzz into it that the idea feels fresh, invigorated, new. This can possibly be attributed to how damn infectious it is; something achieved by the vibe being anything but angry, instead riotously uplifting. 

Disruptive Influence team photo left to right: Jed “Jed Terror” Downey; Ollie Picket;  Thomas ‘Higgy’ Higginson; Robin Courtney (in true punk DIY fashion the band has been too busy making a killer album that it doesn’t have a single pic including latest recruit Sam Neal).

It wasn’t until the solo in title track (two) ‘Brink of War’ that the holy shit! moment came and I realised just how accomplished the musicianship and song structure. Both have been there all along, of course; much of the opening track’s magic comes from the neat touch of having the backing vocals not only start first, but more so be a sequence of ‘woahs’ that mean the listener can join in straight off the bat and instantly feel part of the camaraderie no questions asked. But so carried away by the vocals and sense of joining the gang, it took a while to really grasp the weight of what’s going on.

It’s no surprise to read vocalist Ollie Pickett is the band’s founder and only remaining original member. So good is Ollie’s voice combined with the outlines of the songs alone, the music could easily get away with being average for Disruptive Influence to still be considered an incredible band to chant and bounce along to.

Instead it’s more than evident that in the recruitment of Thomas ‘Higgy’ Higginson on lead guitar, Sam Neal on accompanying guitar, Robin Courtney on bass and Jed “Jed Terror” Downey on drums, Ollie has over the years ensured only seriously top-notch musicians join Disruptive Influence’s ranks.

And it’s here that things come to serious fruition, for to a relevant degree it’s clear each has been free to make whichever the role very much their own. If Brink of War was a film, its numerous influences would make it comparable to the many layers found in legendary flick Apocalypse Now.

Except, while there may well be serious content in much of the message, there’s none of the horror to be found in the vibe; instead an ecstasy of multiple audio orgasms as numerous aspects of influence make themselves blissfully known.

It’s plenty punk enough—The Ramones; Stiff Little Fingers; Green Day; The Offspring—while there are equally places that are straight up early thrash in line with Megadeth, Metallica and Anthrax; plus a couple of moments that might well be full-on prog-rock in the realms of Deep Purple; and that’s without getting into how the drum and bass patterns frequently bring a sexy weave that sits somewhere between the The Who in their heyday and a general glam rock strut.

Neither do those influences stop in the sound, it often being the vocal and/or lyrical attitude creating the connection: Joe Strummer; Billy Bragg; John Lydon. Either way the joy when encountering one brings a whole new level of Hell yeah! to that already putting a massive grin on the face.

How it manifests can vary: from a brief snippet in the bass or drums to riffs and solos born of the same fire, the greatest aspect in this perhaps being the realisation that much of the time what’s being represented isn’t the ‘sounds-like’ per se, but more so whatever influenced the ‘sounds-like’ in the first place; the album is fully contemporary, but ultimately underpinned with an Eddie Cochran swagger and a Bob Dylan cause.

As the album joyously rampages across ‘Misconduct’ and ‘True Justice’, upping the sense of comradeship with every beat and note, it’s easy to forget the serious aspect found in the lyrics. In ‘Sick Of Our Shit’ some of the thrash aspects rise to the forefront giving the track a slightly confrontational edge and so the vocals likewise; resulting in a rage against the appalling state of the country’s waterways thanks to corporate greed that would make Feargal Sharkey proud.

‘Distorted News’ takes a pop not simply at fake news but the news in general and how much any of it can be trusted, including the BBC no less! (it ironically having to recently pull a documentary for not realising what should have been an obvious lack of impartiality).

‘No Reason’ is the only track on the album to be lyrically self-depreciating by being on the subject of writer’s block: where can lyrics about not being able to write lyrics go? one might wonder. They took me to William Styron’s Sophie’s Choice, one of greatest books I’ve ever read, in which lead character Stingo spends the first few chapters lamenting his writer’s block before resorting to the same pursuit as mentioned in the lyrics here to alleviate the frustration . . .

Ollie’s vocals, lyrics and not simply writing ability but also character are perhaps at their best on ‘Your Country Hates You’. The taunt of I know something you don’t know is incorporated utterly intact from childhood yet somehow delivered in a way containing a mocking edge that I can genuinely see leaving the uptight-anxiety-ridden-though-totally-unaware-right of society absolutely seething; while at exactly the same time Ollie’s voice also carries something of a knowing cheeky wink for anyone already in agreement with his way of seeing things.

Final track ‘Fuck ‘Em All’ is a blissful meeting of Venom’s ‘Angel Dust (demo version)’, Mötley Crüe’s ‘Kickstart My Heart’ and The Beastie Boys in general with a heavy seasoning of early thrash, and it’s absolutely fucking delicious for it: an incredible end to an incredible album that’s perfect for any occasion be it drinking, dancing, fucking, working or protesting and could easily be left on repeat during any and not get boring for the fact.

This absolute quality—exquisite, even—recording was made at Room 4 Studios, Bristol and produced by Phil Davies. Simply put, it’s out-fucking-standing!

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