Last Hounds – ‘Burden’ [Album Review]

Listening to Midlands hardcore punk band Last Hounds brawling their way through their debut album, Burden, you can tell they come from somewhere like Midlands where daily life can be a bit of a battle. That’s not to try and stereotype the area but, at the end of the day, from the heavy metal of Black Sabbath to the extreme punk grind of Napalm Death, the region is famous for its grittier bands, and Last Hounds fit nicely in with their catchy anthems.

And that’s one of the massive selling points of this pissed-off debut album. It’s got some right raucous earworms in there none more so than opener “Snakeskin” with that infectious, snotty chant of “you just fucked it up again.” The perfect scene-setter for the record, the rest of Burden follows a similar pattern with frontman Mike Skelcher sneering and snarling through the remaining eleven tracks with his middle finger pointing skyward. The rest of the group joins him with a stomping, aggressive display of Brit hardcore punk epitomized perfectly with the jarring “Running With The Dead,” three minutes twenty seconds of trashy punk rock.

“Incinerate” is another huge standout track on the album. Dripping in spit, Skelcher snaps and barks over the top of some rowdy hardcore gang vocals as the rest of Last Hounds kick up another proper hardcore punk stink. Drinking from the same musical pool as acts like Gallows, there might not be much in the way of variety during Burden but if it’s loud, snappy aggressive punk rock you want then you won’t go wrong letting your ears take a battering from the likes of “Extraordinary” or the riotous “Do Or Die.”

Last Hounds wrap Burden up with one last blast of punk rock in the form of the 53-second “Innocence” bringing this pissed-off collection of hardcore punk anthems to a short, sweet and suitably rowdy climax. Now, while Last Hounds might peddle the kind of sounds you’ve heard before, there is something about this set of songs that just hooks you into Burden over and over again. Straight from the heart, if you like your music loud, pissed-off and aggressive, you won’t go far wrong with Burden.

Burden Track Listing:

1. Snakeskin
2. Handmade
3. Balaclava
4. Running with the Dead
5. Slow Burn
6. Incinerate
7. Bleed
8. They Say
9. Extraordinary
10. Lay Me Down
11. Do or Die
12. Innocence

Run Time: 34:58
Release Date: October 22, 2021
Record Label: VENN Records