Review – Smash Fascism Split – Angelic Upstarts, 5MDR, Klasse Kriminale, 17100 Kids

4 bands for an incredible split.

The cover of Zerocalcare, of whom I am a great reader, opens the door to one of the best splits of 2018, released for the wonderful label  Hellnation, not so wierd! Protagonists of this 7” entitled “Smash Fascism” are: on side A, Angelic Upstarts with “Nazi BNP” and 5MDR with “La Crisi”, while on side B, Klasse Kriminale with “I Nuovi Banditi” and 17100 Kids with “Savona Antifascista”.

In a nutshell, except for the historical Angelic Upstarts, we’re talking about all the bands from Savona. The album is a real gem, to have both for collectors and for lovers of oi/street punk made with heart and political commitment. “Smash Fascism” unites four bands from the same tour but with different musical approaches, which in four simple songs, is both versatile and compact. It starts in a more relaxed way, with the punk rock of Angelic Upstarts, melodic and old-school, then move on to the 5MDR that pull out of the hat a more technical and studied, but equally melodic and decidedly gritty. On the other side we find instead the veterans Klasse Kriminale who shout their anger proving to be still on the track with a song of great transport and energy. This short album closes with “Savona Antifascista”, a 17100 Kids song that oozes of solid and pissed off street punk.

Beautiful release and as the Klasse Kriminale say in their song “Siamo tutti antifascisti!“(we’re all antifascists). So, go ahead and “Smash Fascism”!

Reviewed by Tom
Translation by Cinzia Forte