Boycott The Baptist - Bash The Bishop (A Smashing Good time)

I was contacted around December 2016 by the vocalist and guitarist of this power duo. Now, I check out a page called "Underground Music Coalition" and this gentleman, Mr. Arthur contacted me about his band and is a member of that page as well. I checked out their bandcamp page, and this album stood out for me as a Smashing good time, check it out and judge for yourself. If you are around the UK I would suggest in checking out their live shows. I imagine that would be more intense than the album as well. The album is quite intense as You will see and hear.

The band is from Lincoln UK, and play something along the lines of: tongue-in-cheek Comedy/Grindcore/Noise/Punk. There is a good deal of New Orleans, Louisiana Sludge Metal in their sound as well (one of their songs has a definite nod to this, which you will see.) Their live shows must be quite a blast. The other member is Danny, and he does drums along with vocals as well. But a little into the background of the band. They have played with the likes of: Rash Decision, Brainshit, Mothcob, Afternoon Gentlemen, Canaya, Corrupt Moral Altar, Famine, Gets Worse, and Wormrot. The band started playing shows in December 2013. According to Mr. Arthur, the band had played 150 shows as of 12/08/16. The favorite venues of the band are: Temple of Boom (Leeds), Rebellion Bar (Manchester), Westgarth Social Club (Middlesborough), and The Bird's Nest (London).

In the way of discography, the band has: 1 demo, 2 EP's and this album. But, am sure they are working on material currently and gearing up for 2017.

Now, for the album itself. What follows will be a "hit by hit" of my interpretation of the album. However, listen for yourself as music is all about interpretation.

1. "Intro" - This song is a full volume slow-paced powerful intro. The guitar punches at you and then quite a "tone-heavy Southern Bluesy" guitar part is heard. The drums go into a slow end to the song and a Hardcore yell is heard. While this is quite brief, it does foreshadow what the album's attitude will be.

2. "Closer To The Danger" - The song has the drums intro with the toms around the tempo of the previous song, but the rolls have a good way of showing that this song will pick up speed. And that it does, the lyrics are yelled at you while the tempo shifts to a "grindcore/punk" pace. The guitars here are very reminiscent of punk and grindcore, but it may lend to "crust punk" as well. The rest of the album seems to follow this example.

3. "Eels" - Here the tune starts off with feedback from the amp. The drums kick in with a hi-hat that counts off and then the drums roll from punk to hardcore to grind at one point. The lyrics are simple but that is characteristic of the rapid fire delivery in the grind punk style. As well the two play instruments while doing vocals, am sure while they put on a hell of a show. So, props for that. The lyrics seem to hint that "Eels are the danger" from the previous song? In this way, the album does have a flow to it.

4. "Eyeheartgod" - This is one of my favorites from the album. A very heavy nod to the band EyeHateGod it would seem. This song has a bit more variety than some of the other songs. Not wquite sure where the sample is from at the beginning. The guitars have some solid riffs and make an almost "Doom, Stoner, Sludge" feel at the beginning. I like how the drum part has the addition of playing on the ride. This drives the song along quite well. The drums are steady and the tom fills are tasteful. No vocals are in this song. The end of the song is an onsluaght of some great punk and grind drumming. For the moments closest to "bastbeats" it seems the ride and the snare are involved. The band does a great job of transitioning between the tempo changes in the song, snare rolls seem to do the trick quite nicely. The kick is heard quite well in the mix here.

5. "Fuck Off Trump" - Perhaps here is the most angry song on the album in my opinion. The beginning is a voiceover, perhaps from the movie "The Big Lebowski." This song would be the most political in my opinion. The hi-hat hits cue the song. The tempo is kept quite well by the guitars in this song. And when I heard the guitar, I pictured the amp smoking. Quite powerful in this song and reminiscent of Napalm Death in my opinion. The snare rolls happen at the end of the song. The lyrics are short, but to the point. No misinterpreting them.

6. "Grindcore Prenup" - This song obviously has a big "Grindcore" influence. It sounds as if there are two guitars here. The guitarist does a great job of emulating the power and riffs of two. This song may be the fastest on the album. The intro, kind of paints a picture of what their fans might do in the pit. One of the duo does some quite scathing screaming, which is a nice difference and reminds me of a band called, Nasum, from Sweden (great band check out their work and they may be playing their last shows soon). The end of the song sounds interesting, not sure if it is a hammer on of multiple strings quickly? But, I do like that touch. It makes the song catch your attention the qhole way through.

7. "Happiness is a Loaded Pun" - This one is quite "Doom Metal" sounding and heavy. The band does a good job at mixing the tempos in the songs, to make the album interesting. When the hi-hat counts off the song picks up tempo very abrasaively. There are tom fills with double bass, which is a good addition to the song. The guitar chords add a good deal of tone to the mood of the song. It is a quite brooding tone and fits the song quite well. A kind of depressing feeling (the song may deal with suicide?) The drums and guitar combo is quite powerful in this song.

8. "Chalk It Up" - Another of my favorite songs on the album. The guitar part in this song, makes it sound the most like there are two guitarists. I commend Mr. Arthur in doing this, because that is quite difficult to do in a live setting. If you listen closely the guitar pans from the headphones and sounds like two different guitar parts? This may be done with a delay or reverb effect? The guitar part is quite "Nu-Metal" or "Hard Rock" sounding, in that it has that metallic scratching which I think makes the song unique, then the riffs become almost "Thrash" at moments? The drums play somewhat of a "Swing beat" on the snare. This gives the song a different feeling, maybe the drummer is influenced by "Jazz music" in this way? The higher pitched yelling in this song is more frequent than the lower register yelling. There is a "Punk" feel in that the two yell at the same time multiple times. A "Call and response" form of delivery, used often in Punk.

9. "Minor Threat (makes me wanna drink)" - Here is another definite nod to a band. While I have not heard too much Minor Threat, this song makes me want to drink. The intro with the splashes on the cymbals and the chord that is held, gives the song a more "Hardcore Punk" feel. The drums play a faster "Swing Beat" than the previous song. The vocals are essentially the name of the song, but that does lend well to songs that make Metalheads drink. If you repeat the idea, people are more likely to listen, especially someone that is a bit hammered (from experience).

10. "Pre-Pubescent Slam" - Another of my favorites on the album. There is a voiceover, not sure where it is from. The guitars here chug along at the intro. Perhaps what follows are the most abrasive "throaty" yells. The song kind of reminds me of early S.O.A.D. Has a bit of a groove to the song. The bell or cymbal is used to keep time along with the hi-hat. I do like the variety in the drum parts. This song may have the most versatile drumming on the album.

11. "Thank Fuck You're Not A Cop" - I like this song a good bit. The voiceover appears to be from the movie, "The Usual Suspects" (it fits well with the song). Quite a heavy guitar song at the intro. Here again, sounds like two guitarists and there is some serious power behind it. The song is a bit slower at the intro. The hi-hat cuts through with an accent and the song turns into a punk song. In between the fills the guitar adds some chords which is nice, it gives the song a bit more flow and variety in the riffs. There is a quick and frantic guitar solo in the song?

12. "The Happy Birthday Grindcore Song" - This song is almost all of a voiceover. My guess is that it is from the cartoon "The Amazing World of Gumball." This song is quite brief. But, it does add to the comedy aspect of the album.

13. "WHAT?" - This song seems to be a nod to, Napalm Death - "You Suffer...But Why?" Apparently it is considered the shortest song in the world (by Zak Smith in his book, "We Did Porn.") Perhaps this is true today as the song is one second long.

14. "Yoko No-No" - This song is quite hilarious in concept and great in instrumentals. It seems that Yoko-Ono (widow to John Lennon) does the intro voiceover. This song may be the heaviest of the album, mixes a bit of Thrash and Hardcore" the best? There are some parts that are quite "breakdown" reminiscent. Very much sounds like two guitars. These two can make an impressive "wall of sound." The drums vary in the song from blastbeats on the hi-hat to groove on the bass and toms. The drums are quite great in this song.

15. "Zero Net Force" - This song has a driving almost Southern guitar vibe, the intro is slow, but adds suspense. There is perhaps the best solo of the album in this song. A good way to finish off the album. The drums do a good job in being right on time with the change in guitar riffs. The album ends with one word, which may have been done on purpose as that is how the album started.

After listening to this, You might be like myself and curious as to what is the guitarist running with? Well, the guitarist has: "Two Marshall guitar 4x12's and one 2x12 bass cab. His guitar is an LTD Viper.

Some influences of his are: Anal Cunt, Pig Destroyer, EyeHateGod, and Cyndi Lauper. However, the latter "makes him feel good about life." This shows that the band is open-minded and has a diverse range of influences. I have not been able to find the Lauper influence in their music, though.

Taking into consideration the style of music and that both musicians play while doing vocals and putting on a hell of a show, they are quite talented. This duo sounds like there are more musicians onstage with them. This is a tough impression to give, but they pull it off quite well. While the formula is the same for the songs, the duo keep the music interesting by mixing in nuances that are quite rare for their style of music. I apprecaite that and in this way, perhaps the band is more experimental than others in their genre, in this aspect. It might be a good idea to see the band live first and then listen to the album if possible. Their music is intense and their live shows must be as well. Fans of the genres mentioned can appreciate what the band has accomplished with this album. If you are not necessarily into that music, remember this is a duo and take into account all that is done by two musicians. Impressive one would have to admit. This is a form of musicianship that is underrated sadly, in my opinion. So, grab your cojones and join the bash. It is a great, wild ride for a band that am sure can put on one hell of a bash that You don't want to miss.

Big thanks to Mr. Arthur (guitarist & vocalist) for his insight into the band and his openess in answering my questions.