Let’s see how long it lasts, but here we are: I’ve started exercising again. Running anyway, plus a few push-ups and sit-ups – that’s the situation. And of course, you need the right music for that, and nothing fits better than Militarie Gun. This is pure sweat music. The hardcore band from Los Angeles revolves around self-destruction, but above all around the will to channel that destructive energy into something positive. With his strained, shouted delivery, frontman Ian Shelton turns into a kind of life coach. It feels as if he’s saying: »I know what it’s like to be flat on the ground. So get up, my friend, and do it now. DO IT NOW!« There is no shortage of heavy, dragging themes on God Save The Gun, but Shelton’s response is always to start running. Surrender is probably not a word he knows.
Like hardcore poster boys Turnstile, Militarie Gun manage to fuse the toughness of their home genre with catchy pop choruses. Sure, the band may not have the range or finesse of a truly great group like Turnstile, but in terms of sheer power they give nothing away. What’s more, the band push their own aesthetic forward on this album: the synths on »God Owes Me Money«, the acoustic guitar on »Daydream« – both gestures point clearly towards the future. And the outro of »I Won’t Murder Your Friend« recalls the Beatles’ White Album, if the four Liverpudlians hadn’t got stoned all the time but gone to the gym every day.
