TKO Records – 10 Mar 2023
Denmark’s Tyrant deliver a brutal hardcore beatdown.
Sometimes you just need some angry, hateful, tough as nails hardcore. You can add Tyrant to your go to list for pissed off pleasures. Release the Animal is some heavy, ugly stuff. Tyrant comes from the unlikely location of Copenhagen, Denmark, the home of Hans Christian Andersen. The Danish aren’t really known for their hardcore, but maybe they should be. Tyrant was formed by members of Cesspool and Night Fever, and Release the Animal is a compilation of their first two seven inch EPs.
Both of Tyrant’s EPs were self titled, and side A contains the three songs from their 2017 debut. Opener “Waste of Flesh” is a stern warning that feels like a punch to the face. “Violence” is a little more rock and roll, but still heavy as hell. “Count Me Out” adds some oi influences. It’s like Sheer Terror, Slapshot, and Negative Approach collided with Sham 69, Cockney Rejects and The Last Resort. You can really feel the anger in the guttural vocal delivery.
Side B is from 2022, and is somehow even angrier. “Degenerate” is outright hostile, but incorporates some nice rock and roll lead guitar. “My Right” is a perfect soundtrack for violence. “Makes Me Sick” rages against the loss of honesty and integrity in the scene. Closer “Yes Sir” is the key track on Release the Animal. It not only gives the record its name, but it sums up everything Tyrant is about. It’s relentlessly punishing but somehow still catchy. This is 15 minutes of negative pummeling that we need in 2023.
For vinyl fiends: The original Tyrant seven inches are fairly expensive and/or hard to find, so this record is a much more convenient option. It’s a 33 RPM 12 inch with a nice heavy duty black and white insert with lyrics and artwork from both LPs. The 100 white copies are already sold out, but you can still nab the black if you act fast.
Part-time punk writer, suburban dad and angry old man. Follow my adventures on the Punk Till I Die podcast!
