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Christopher Owens 🎵 with the 52nd in his Predominance series.

"I remember my friend Tate Bryant/Shot in the back in Tampa, Florida for his first-offense burglary/I remember the police firing into crowds and killing children/'Cause they were the wrong colour/The police is the Klan is the mafia and they all own the police state/ And they're out for me, and soon they're going to be out to get you..." - MDC

Horns up 


Golden Oldies


Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go

Although a fairly ubiquitous album back in the day, retrospective listening shows that it's not far removed (lyrically speaking) from their rage filled opus The Holy Bible. In between anthems about drinking (A Design for Life), love (Further Away) and longing for escape (Australia), we also get numbers about Pulitzer Prize winning war photographers, Alzheimer ridden painters and tortured zoo animals. All with a commercial sheen that flitters between disco, the Wall of Sound and tender acoustic moments.



Scott Walker - Bish Bosch

From 60's pop idol to experimental legend via Jacques Brel, Walker had quite the career trajectory. This, his final solo album from 2012, remains a remarkable listen that manages to be both baroque and minimalist at the same time. Taking influence from the sonics of dubstep as well as adding jazz, industrial beats and avant-garde into the mix, it still sounds like nothing else in 2025. You need to listen to the whole thing in one go to fully appreciate the madness and uniqueness on show.



Gallows - Gallows

After making two solid if unspectacular albums that saw the band lauded as the saviours of hardcore by various music rags, it took Gallows to ditch Frank Carter and recruit Wade MacNeil (ex Alexisonfire) in order to make the best album of their career. ‘Victim Culture’ feels like listening to Poison Idea and The 4-Skins back to back. ‘Last June’ is furiously political with a drum sound that would start riots and the ‘ACAB’ chant, combined with some old school punk rock riffage makes this incendiary.
 


Trash Talk - 119

‘119’ doesn’t deviate from the formula laid down in ‘Eyes & Nines.’ You know just what to expect: hardcore fury. What you don’t expect is the clear and crisp production, which allows the thundering beats and menacing vocals to be even more venomous than normal. ‘Blossom & Burn’ is the standout number. A slow, grinding one along the lines of ‘Hash Wednesday’ from ‘Eyes & Nines’, it gives you a respite from the chaos but also throws in surprise appearances from Odd Future members Tyler the Creator and Hodgy Beats. Then back to the mayhem.



X-TG - Desertshore/The Final Report

Triumph snatched from the jaws of defeat. A summarisation of everything that made Throbbing Gristle important. Beauty with nihilism. Some of the many phrases used to describe this double album set. All are true. By reinterpreting the classic Nico album as well as offering up another disc of industrial noise, TG have offered up a fitting tribute to former member Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson but also closed the book on this remarkable band with style and panache.



Killing Joke - MMXII

Overshadowed by frontman Jaz Coleman going missing (again) on the eve of a UK tour with The Cult, ‘MMXII’ is an LP that takes a while to grab you. But when it does, you’ll listen to little else for weeks. Much like ‘Absolute Dissent’, it takes elements of KJ’s history and mixes them together to produce something extraordinary. Opener ‘Poleshift’ initially wrong foots you into thinking this will be a more mellow KJ (along the lines of the underrated ‘Democracy’ LP) but the chorus kicks in and demonstrates the power and righteous anger that have always been among KJ’s trademarks. Still the sound of the end of the world.


⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland. He is currently the TPQ Friday columnist.

Predominance 53

Christopher Owens 🎵 with the 52nd in his Predominance series.

"I remember my friend Tate Bryant/Shot in the back in Tampa, Florida for his first-offense burglary/I remember the police firing into crowds and killing children/'Cause they were the wrong colour/The police is the Klan is the mafia and they all own the police state/ And they're out for me, and soon they're going to be out to get you..." - MDC

Horns up 


Golden Oldies


Manic Street Preachers - Everything Must Go

Although a fairly ubiquitous album back in the day, retrospective listening shows that it's not far removed (lyrically speaking) from their rage filled opus The Holy Bible. In between anthems about drinking (A Design for Life), love (Further Away) and longing for escape (Australia), we also get numbers about Pulitzer Prize winning war photographers, Alzheimer ridden painters and tortured zoo animals. All with a commercial sheen that flitters between disco, the Wall of Sound and tender acoustic moments.



Scott Walker - Bish Bosch

From 60's pop idol to experimental legend via Jacques Brel, Walker had quite the career trajectory. This, his final solo album from 2012, remains a remarkable listen that manages to be both baroque and minimalist at the same time. Taking influence from the sonics of dubstep as well as adding jazz, industrial beats and avant-garde into the mix, it still sounds like nothing else in 2025. You need to listen to the whole thing in one go to fully appreciate the madness and uniqueness on show.



Gallows - Gallows

After making two solid if unspectacular albums that saw the band lauded as the saviours of hardcore by various music rags, it took Gallows to ditch Frank Carter and recruit Wade MacNeil (ex Alexisonfire) in order to make the best album of their career. ‘Victim Culture’ feels like listening to Poison Idea and The 4-Skins back to back. ‘Last June’ is furiously political with a drum sound that would start riots and the ‘ACAB’ chant, combined with some old school punk rock riffage makes this incendiary.
 


Trash Talk - 119

‘119’ doesn’t deviate from the formula laid down in ‘Eyes & Nines.’ You know just what to expect: hardcore fury. What you don’t expect is the clear and crisp production, which allows the thundering beats and menacing vocals to be even more venomous than normal. ‘Blossom & Burn’ is the standout number. A slow, grinding one along the lines of ‘Hash Wednesday’ from ‘Eyes & Nines’, it gives you a respite from the chaos but also throws in surprise appearances from Odd Future members Tyler the Creator and Hodgy Beats. Then back to the mayhem.



X-TG - Desertshore/The Final Report

Triumph snatched from the jaws of defeat. A summarisation of everything that made Throbbing Gristle important. Beauty with nihilism. Some of the many phrases used to describe this double album set. All are true. By reinterpreting the classic Nico album as well as offering up another disc of industrial noise, TG have offered up a fitting tribute to former member Peter ‘Sleazy’ Christopherson but also closed the book on this remarkable band with style and panache.



Killing Joke - MMXII

Overshadowed by frontman Jaz Coleman going missing (again) on the eve of a UK tour with The Cult, ‘MMXII’ is an LP that takes a while to grab you. But when it does, you’ll listen to little else for weeks. Much like ‘Absolute Dissent’, it takes elements of KJ’s history and mixes them together to produce something extraordinary. Opener ‘Poleshift’ initially wrong foots you into thinking this will be a more mellow KJ (along the lines of the underrated ‘Democracy’ LP) but the chorus kicks in and demonstrates the power and righteous anger that have always been among KJ’s trademarks. Still the sound of the end of the world.


⏩ Christopher Owens was a reviewer for Metal Ireland and finds time to study the history and inherent contradictions of Ireland. He is currently the TPQ Friday columnist.
Christopher Owens Music Predominance series

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