#45 Flork Reviews: The Wilderness - The Wilderness IV (2022)

 

 The Wilderness - The Wilderness IV (2022)

By Flork

 

You gotta give credit to the lads from Trnava for helping keep punk alive and kicking. Their brand of punk and post-punk with heavy doses of crust and grind added to the mix create a superb blend of anger and anarchy in their sound. All the songs are original and full of fast changes, the way hardcore punk is meant to be played. This is the sort of group that stirs up crowds in small or large venues and guarantees to put on a quality show.

Yet they manage to translate their energy superbly in the studio with their fourth full-length album, which certainly doesn’t disappoint. Wilderness IV contains fourteen tracks of varying lengths, all of them fast and fun to listen to. The album opens with Juche, a really cool composition that begins with softer notes and harmonies, but quickly explodes into a barrage of apocalyptic sounds and energy. This is such a great song and I’d like to say that it’s my favourite, but there are so many other gems on this album that it’s hard to say which one I like best. Take Roxorové tyče (Roxor Rods), this is a full-on assault of heavy guitars and vocals displaying the roots of hardcore punk at its best. Even Obrazy z kultúrnych dejín ludskej religiozity is reminiscent of the 80s mosh pit scene. Ian Mckaye would be proud of these boys. Seriously, there are undertones of Minor Threat and or Black Flag in several of the tracks, but very subtle and you’d need to be an old goat like myself to catch on to them. But at the same time it’s all very original with never a dull moment. In addition to Juche, my favourites are Každý z nás je tak trochu Hiro Onoda (We’re each a little Hiro Onoda), Nedlžím ti nič! (I don’t owe you anything!) of course Roxorové tyče but also Zdvíhni hlavu! (Heads Up!), which brings the album to a near close before the grande finale Už len chvílku, the black sheep of the family, since it is played entirely on the piano while containing no vocals and ending brilliantly on a crash of the lower keys.

And the Florkster’s overall impression? Absolutely brilliant album with first class production and mixing. Every track is fun to listen to and will either get you out of a bad mood or put you into a worse one. 10 out of 10 for sure! Klobúk dole!