Do you remember Downset? If you were around buying CDs and records back in the 1990s, then you will definitely remember them. They found themselves, probably unfairly, badged with the epithet “rap metal”. Whilst that epithet went some way to describe the dynamic that underpinned their work, it didn’t really cover all the bases, missing, for example, their debt to the LA hardcore scene as well as their overt political sensibility. As the more forensically minded among you might recall, Downset emerged out of LA politicos Social Justice from the late 1980s.
Downset are now back with a solid and unrelenting album in One Blood (Self-Released). This is a brutal and vicious record as lead singer Rey Oropeza reminds us that his anger remains utterly undiminished by the passage of time, remaining utterly relentless in his and his band’s rallying against injustice, broken society and politics in general. If you are at all familiar with their work, then you can breathe a sigh of relief that all things Downset are present and correct.
This is the band’s fifth album to date and their first for nigh on a decade. Downset’s vision has always been one wherein the artistry and community forged through music can be a collective force for good. Given the instability and political crises across the globe at the present time, one can see why this single minded of groups have decided to step back into the fray.
One Blood is breathless in its execution. From the sparky, take-no-prisoners opening track through the Suicidal Tendencies meets Dillinger Escape Plan schtick of ‘Why We Can’t Wait’ and onwards to the brutality of ‘Know Me’, this is a record that works on two levels. First, as an aural baseball bat to the head, it doesn’t have many peers. You are bludgeoned from the off so it helps if you are in the mood for its crushing anger – this is unlikely to be your Sunday morning hangover record (on second thoughts though…). Second, as a manifestation of the rage of men struggling to make their way in a society where the odds seem stacked unfairly against them it also works.
If there is criticism of One Blood it is in that it sounds exactly like the early 90s and exactly like a Downset record. Having said all that, given the fragility and uncertainty of the political realm that surrounds us, perhaps that Downset anchor point is just what we need.
7.0/10.0
MAT DAVIES
