Greyer By Shades

Greyer By Shades

Matthew Winters

Gallows' lead singer Frank Carter is somewhat of an enthusiast in the field of screwing with the media. When interviewed about Gallows' internationally acclaimed new album Grey Britain, he stated to New Musical Express that the band is just "a hobby I get paid for". With the release of Grey Britain, Gallows starts out on a three-record track with Warner Brothers International reportedly worth around 1 million pounds. That's a pretty good hobby.

The album is classic punk rock with a thrash swagger. Recalling former tour mates Cancer Bats and the anger of Bring Me the Horizon, the band switches into high gear on first single "The Vulture (Act II)" and second single "London Is the Reason." The album is full of the trademark high-pitched guitar of Laurent Barnard dueling with Stephen Carters' guitar. It is most noticeable on "Leeches," a burning ode to everyone you hate on a day to day basis, grilling with lines like "If your hands could talk / they'd choke themselves to death before they were caught," and on to the bridge of "I Dread the Night" with its slow burn to urgency. "Black Eyes" is an old-school gang-chorus punk song; it feels out the true ideas of the album: disgust for the politics of Britain.

Uncharacteristically, though, the band chose to do something that they have never done: slow things down and let Frank Carter sing, not scream. It gives the album the emotionality it needed to be persuasive. Instead of shouting the message out to the audience and leaving them almost questioning what they are hearing, like so much of Gallows' 2006 debut Orchestra of Wolves, the singing and toned-down attitude of the band makes reception to the message easier. Gallows are mad at the world and they are not afraid to show it.

Originally Published in The WSU Signpost 6/9/09