The Casualties

The Casualties: Under AttackUnder Attack (2006)
Side One Dummy Records

Reviewer Rating: 4

User Rating:

Contributed by: FuckYouOiOiOiFuckYouOiOiOi
(others by this writer | submit your own)
Published on September 1st 2006"Ewww, their hair is too spiked, fuck them! Oh yeah, their lyrics are lame too, up the punx? What the fuck is that?" The Casualties are back, and this time all the internerd punks have little to complain about. Under Attack is one of the most solid punk rock releases of the year. Instead of focus.

"Ewww, their hair is too spiked, fuck them! Oh yeah, their lyrics are lame too, up the punx? What the fuck is that?" The Casualties are back, and this time all the internerd punks have little to complain about. Under Attack is one of the most solid punk rock releases of the year.

Instead of focusing on punx and doing punk-related activities (like their earlier albums), the lyrics continue in the political nature of their previous album, On the Front Line. The title track kicks things off and is a scathing indicment of the government forcing its citizens into war. "Without Warning" discusses the impending extinction of the world's oil source and has the biting line "They don't give us an alternative if they can't make money out of it." One only has to think of the short-lived electric car to realize how true that line is. "System Failed Us Again," "Social Outcast," "V.I.P.," "No Solution No Control," "On City Streets," "Fallen Heroes," and "Down and Out" all deal with the haves and the have-nots in society and, unsurprisingly, show the haves as being phony, greedy, morally corrupt assholes while identifying with and showing compassion towards the have-nots. Inside the lyric sheet is a beautiful, heartfelt intro to "Down and Out," and the song is one of the most poetic, hair-raising songs the Casualties have written. "Great American Progress" is about all the past mistakes in American history (Indian genocide, slavery, mistreatment of Chinese, Irish, and Japanese immigrants) and progresses into a criticism of the current immigration policy pointing out the government's hypocricy: "Supposed land of the free, Lady Liberty lied to me."

But old fans need not worry, the music is as fast, fun and energetic as ever. Jorge's harsh, guttaral vocals drip with venom on each track. Any band can write political lyrics, but only the good bands can back up those lyrics with urgent music and confrontational vocals. A lot of the songs lead into each other, which gives Under Attack the feeling of a complete album. The simple, two-word choruses are impossible to not shout along with. "V.I.P." is the slowest song on the album but its still faster and rocks harder than many bands' so-called fast songs. The chorus is a classic fist-pumping Oi! sing-along.

But the album is not perfect. Although the vocals are right on I get an unexplainable feeling of a lack of intensity as compared to their albums before On the Front Line. However, I got this same vibe with the latest NOFX and Propagandhi records, so this could be due to my own growth as opposed to the bands'. But all of the songs, which are over three minutes, could easily be cut down to at least two and a half. Whenever Jorge takes a break from his vocal duties there seems to be a standard riff being played over a standard punk drum beat. The last song, an instrumental, honestly just seems like filler. Also, there are only 12 'fucks' on this whole album. Any Casualties fan knows it needs at least 88 more 'fuck's. These are minor complaints of an otherwise spectacular album.

Under Attack is 12 shots of pure punk rock the way it was meant to be played: loud, fast, and pissed off with shout-along choruses. If you like the Casualties, you'll like this. If you were one of those internet punks who complained about their lyrics, you'll find this album does a better job of fulfilling your great intellectual needs. As for me, I think it's their second best album.

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Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not respon sible for them in any way. Seriously.

londonpunk (April 26, 2008)

Casualties are a painful American version of what they consider 'real' British punkrock (like Conflict, Exploited etc). America has its own great history of punk bands, why the need to do a bad imitation of stuff that is not relevant in its sound to America unless its adpated/updated (e.g Rancid)?

American punks try to be British, British punks try to be American...sigh.

VictorIkpeba24 (February 5, 2007)

I'm kinda late but :

"But the album is not perfect"

understatement of the year.

Comment of the (last) year.

The_Wayfarer (January 25, 2007)

Oh yeah. And Jorge sounded like an old man trying to sing death metal when I saw them with the Briefs.

The_Wayfarer (January 25, 2007)

Man oh man do the Casualties suck. Suck suck suck and ... suck.

"Fucking crusties walking down the street in their big boots."

Yep that night Jorge probably gave me the best reason ever to hate the only form of punk that isn't full up of morons and posers (but is getting there) as I stared at his boots up to his knees.

I'd agree with his whole "fuck hippies" rant if he actually knew what a hippie was.

assgoblin (January 15, 2007)

I fucking hate the Casualties! They think they are so goddamn punk! Punk isn't about how many studs are on your leather jacket or how tall your mohawk is! If they were so punk they wouldn't play the Warped Tour with a bunch of emo ass bands! The Casualties got the cliche punk look down but that is about it!!!

PePeRoTTeN (September 24, 2006)

all i want to say to all of you is that, after you were born, you didn´t started walking at once, you first needed to crawl, right?
well, i´m more into crust/ street punk scene, and i like to hear bands like Crucifix, Nausea, Aus Rotten some The Unseen and the likes, but i didn´t get to that music at once, i first started listening to NOFX, Anti-Flag and specially The Casualties.
i really think The Casualties lyrics aren´t very complex, but they do a great job into getting more and more kids into the scene, kids who will then listen to other bands with more elaborated lyrics, but they needed to crawl first. Also their message of unity amongst punks had never changed from the beginning.
just think about it.
anyways, i liked more Die Hards ;-)

Anonymous (September 13, 2006)

This album is auesome except for the songs like social outcast, they mock punk when bands make songs like that. But pick this one up itll fuck you up.

Snakes (September 8, 2006)

why am i on here ? to piss of punks such as yourself, oi oi oi ha ha ha!

Anonymous (September 8, 2006)

oi oi oi!? punk just keeps geting lazier and lazier

FuckYouOiOiOi (September 7, 2006)

Oi! Oi! Oi!

feeeding5000 (September 7, 2006)

New Band Name: Pandering Crust Politicos. You could call'em PCP!

Scruffy (September 7, 2006)

Are you attacking me, or the person I was quoting? Because it sounds like you're attacking me, and if you read my post, I'm technically defending the Casualties.

FuckYouOiOiOi (September 7, 2006)

fuck off ya hippie scum

Scruffy (September 6, 2006)

"bands who aren't talented or smart enough to play anything but 3 chord riffs or a single standard drum beat"

Why are you even on, let alone registered with, a punk website?

Anonymous (September 6, 2006)

"oi oi oi oi oi" is that the sound of them getting fucked in the ass by the so called "man"

Snakes (September 6, 2006)

"some of the best lyrics come from punk and hc" you must still be in middle school if you think that a bunch of bands who aren't talented or smart enough to play anything but 3 chord riffs or a single standard drum beat are good song writers

Anonymous (September 6, 2006)

Fuck this band for having a name that is close to Capitalist Casualties. Also, fuck this band for thinking that they are important enough to be "under attack". Yeah, shithead teenagers who spend 2 hours a day sewing patches onto their pants and spanging for malt liquor outside of the subway are real threats to society.
-Ken

chickswithdicks (September 5, 2006)

this shit is shit.

Anonymous (September 5, 2006)

"I hate it when people pretend to like punk because of the great lyrics."

Some of the best lyrics I've ever heard have come from punk & hc. Apparently you should be listening to better bands.
I recommend Bad Religion, Embrace, Jawbreaker, Street Dogs, Fugazi, NOFX, Gorilla Biscuits, early AFI, Angel City Outcasts....actually, fuck it. I recommend you listen to some other kind of music.

Anonymous (September 5, 2006)

I'm not big on this band but they are hitting my town with the Wednesday Night Heroes so I guess I'll go to the show, the Briefs aren't that bad either.

Anonymous (September 5, 2006)

This post, and the previous two, brought to you by Scruffy, who is too stupid to log in. Maybe I should write some Casualties lyrics.

Anonymous (September 5, 2006)

By the way, that was totally not a dig at your age. I'm just pointing out that it seemed that way to me when I was in high school, but it seems completely the opposite now.

Anonymous (September 5, 2006)

"I hate it when people pretend to like punk because of the great lyrics."

Maybe it seems like the genre is half-dominated by 15 year olds to you, because you're still in high school. I'm 24, and almost every band I listen to has members older than I am. I hold myself up not to write stupid lyrics (that's not to say I don't, sometimes), so there is no reason that I wouldn't hold every band I listen to up to those same standards.
Or maybe some of us actually want mental stimulation from our music. To some of us, it's where we found ourselves, and we hold it up to the same standard we hold ourselves, if not higher.

hitlerbadzakgood (September 5, 2006)

this is horrid. one of the golden points about the casualties was thier production was gritty. i cant get into this. with so many better albums out this year, this is forgettable and passive. way to not stand out.

Anonymous (September 5, 2006)

The great the best....No comment
see them in concert and break your legs...

SlowStupidHungry (September 5, 2006)

Look, my gripe with punk lyrics is never that they're "too stupid." In a genre half dominated by 15 year old kids, I don't expect too much in that department. As long as it's honest, I don't care... That said, I don't listen to enough street punk to even care about it enough to warrant questioning its honesty. Maybe the lyrics suck, maybe they don't.

As long as the politics aren't redundant crusty pandering and the stupidity isn't stupid for traditional stupidity's sake, lyrics don't really matter. I care more about song titles.

Next.

arrhythmia (September 5, 2006)

Punk music has terrible, blunt lyrics. Most of it, at least. The only acceptable punk lyrics I can think of are NOFX's. They've got the sarcastic black humor thing going on, and it works. I didn't realize it until one day I was listening to the song "Pump up the valium" and I realized I could relate to what he was saying, coming off of painkillers myself. It's good stuff. The lyrics I mean.

Anonymous (September 4, 2006)

"I hate it when people pretend to like punk because of the great lyrics."

Wow, so there should be no growth whatsoever in the genre because it has to be only loud and incompetent? That's pretty fucking weak. Punk rock has produced an abundance of good lyrics; it's only that shitty bads have perpetuated the mindless writing (such as a lot of street punk bands) trend and not tried to improve on it.

I happen to listen to a lot of music for the lyrics, and that's one of the main reasons I listen to punk rock. I want to hear something creative or fresh, not something benign.

WainscottRockCity (September 4, 2006)

The Casualties put on a wicked live show, but a lot of that is because you can't make out lyrics like:

I'll tell you a little story
A man I used to know
Smelling oh so bad
People laugh at him

WainscottRockCity (September 4, 2006)

Yeah fuck the MAN, let's go get wasted and tear down the invisible wall

TraumaSponge (September 4, 2006)

this could be due to my own growth as opposed to the bands'

Ah, that extra half inch of skull from all the punx barfights and riots and police brutality.

Jesse (September 3, 2006)

"loud, fast, and pissed off with shout-along choruses."

I'll just listen to the Pogues instead and get the same thing. Shit man, Shane McGowan and the guys were fucking ten times as punk as these assholes and they did it with a mandolin and tin whistle.

GlassPipeMurder (September 3, 2006)

The two extremes of the Under Attack reviews could have easily been condensed into one review of this mediocre album.

Snakes (September 3, 2006)

lyrically,some of the weakest shit i've ever heard

FuckYouOiOiOi (September 3, 2006)

sorry, i forgot to up the punx.

feeeding5000 (September 3, 2006)

Oh, and FU -- why the personal attack? I'm a nice guy. And I'm sure you are, too. Why can't all us punx unite?

feeeding5000 (September 3, 2006)

And basically, I have a theory about music. Every band REEEEEEAAAALLLLLY sucks. Every single one.

feeeding5000 (September 3, 2006)

I was mocking Will...and you, to some extent.If I can't write examples of mediocre lyrics, then what can I spend my time doing?

FuckYouOiOiOi (September 3, 2006)

look at me, i'm soooo punk rock! i like discharge and blatz and have the incessant need to name drop bands without actually naming them!
-feeding5000

feeeding5000 (September 3, 2006)

Or what about the deep truths expressed in "ta nite /we're gonna / fuk shit up"?

feeeding5000 (September 3, 2006)

C'mon, Will, you don't think "Aint no feeble bastard, no fucking scapegoat" is truly an achievement in lyricism, to be considered the equal of Bob Dylan's lyrics at his peak?

SlowStupidHungry (September 3, 2006)

I hate it when people pretend to like punk because of the great lyrics.

ILOVESCOTT (September 3, 2006)

i actually thought this was pretty good review.

Anonymous (September 3, 2006)

"thats about the same way i feel about this group. is it the most mentally stimulating band in the world? no. neither is d4, and everyone seems to love them.
i guess the moral is that you can write nonsense songs as long as you play pop-punk.
hell, it seems to be working swimmingly for against me.
resume fellation, thanks."

hahaha greatest thing ever!...that is about Against Me! fucking assholes! man i loved them (who didnt?) idiots. man. whatever. cuk them. either way. D4!!!?!??!? now come on. they are 'mentally stimulating' don't be fuckingstupiod. D4 is awesome. D4 is what Against Me! used to be a year or two ago. until i dontknow...they sold out. whatever. man how can you even excuse what they did? or justify it? yeah. fuck. whatever.

iconoclast (September 3, 2006)

I got this same vibe with the latest NOFX and Propagandhi records

dude, you're fucking crazy. chris's vocals on potemkin are so incredibly intense and powerful. if you can't hear that your dead.

score is for FuckYouOi

Anonymous (September 3, 2006)

Okay everyone, please stop saying "punx". It's stupid. Really stupid. Oh, and The Casualties are generic. You all know it, you just don't want to say it.

Vincent_M (September 2, 2006)

"If you like The Casualties, you'll like this."

Ya think so?

Anonymous (September 2, 2006)

at least they LOOK original.

sarcasm.

KlashedKi (September 2, 2006)

Score is for Oi Punk.

dazed (September 2, 2006)

I like the idea of what the Casualties do just fine, the problem is they're really not that good at it.

I'll go see 'em live, though, their shows are fun if only because of how popular they are amongst younger kids who aren't afraid of a pit.

Anonymous (September 2, 2006)

Focuses on politics hey... I think I'll pass since their politics are about equal to a 15 year old's.

mcpeepants (September 2, 2006)

I am not down with this, however, they do seem to do it somewhat for da shorteez... so 1 star.

Anonymous (September 2, 2006)

The Exploited are just a shitty version of the Exploited.

boba_fett (September 2, 2006)

no. no good.

Anonymous (September 2, 2006)

Yeah man, only 12 fucks?! This band really matured.

ChokingVictim (September 2, 2006)

That was actually a really well written review. I haven't heard this album, but I can't stand the Casualties, and both reviews make it apparent the band hasn't changed at all. FuckYouOiOiOi made their lyrics seem much more intelligent than they really are...

rkl (September 1, 2006)

yeah, the casaulties are just a shitty version of the exploited, but theyre still fun to listen to.

im sure there are those of you on this site who listen to some kind of music just b/c you like the sound, regardless of (if any)lyrical content.
say techno(electronica for the purists), death metal, screamo, dirty south rap, whatever.
thats about the same way i feel about this group. is it the most mentally stimulating band in the world? no. neither is d4, and everyone seems to love them.
i guess the moral is that you can write nonsense songs as long as you play pop-punk.
hell, it seems to be working swimmingly for against me.
resume fellation, thanks.

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

"Under Attack is one of the most solid punk rock releases of the year"

Only if by "punk" you mean pretend street punk.

kingofsuck (September 1, 2006)

Needs more "fucks."

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

Review by: FuckYouOiOiOi

dag

steveman (September 1, 2006)

This review makes me chuckle.

jamespastepunk (September 1, 2006)

I hope this CD makes Bill Stevenson lots of money.

klonny (September 1, 2006)

Score is for FuckYouOiOiOI's latest comment.

Mute98 (September 1, 2006)

score is for the review

ive concluded that fuoioioi is a joke account so this review is hilarious in that sense

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

no your right on propaghandi and NOFX's last records the singing has been half hearted
especially NOFX twas on war on errorism when they produced a "political" album they decided to sing quieter and coherently so that people could really tell what they were saying so that they knew they werent messing around anymore and they were seriously concerned
whereas on the record they sang songs about pretty much the same stuff as they ahd done before
cept less about beer for some reason

HeresLookinAtYou (September 1, 2006)

fuck this band

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

the last album was a political album?
im not complaining i liked the last album, it just was a wee bit generic

FuckYouOiOiOi (September 1, 2006)

skaboom: a bands lyrics can improve in the verses but the choruses can stay simple

archangel: i submitted this review before the first review got put up.

score is for DiscoFucker

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

"...there seems to be a standard riff being played over a standard punk drum beat"

Wow, something new and different for the Casualties! I admit I enjoy the Casualties, but there has never been anything that varied about them. Ever.

Score's for this delusional review.

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

Of course it's more fair minded. Fans are the biggest critics.

skaboom (September 1, 2006)

How do you honestly say their lyrics are maturing while simultaneously praise them for the simplicity of their 2 word shouted choruses? I'm surprised by how well you can write a review (minus the entirely stupid critique of their use of profanity) but you cant seem to have it both ways.

danperrone (September 1, 2006)

you complained about the lack of cursing

DiscoFucker (September 1, 2006)

Punk politics are funny.....some cliche lines, and then all the fans think they are pundits. Hilarious.

dolorbrigand (September 1, 2006)

This cant be stressed enough. This band is not a guilty pleasure (like so many say). And this album is fucking solid

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

i first saw these guys open for blanks 77 and the bouncing souls at coney island high nyc around 94ish. i remember thinking they were silly. then there was a period were i kinda dug their "fucking way of life" 7". now i think they're silly again.

politicians is still a good song though.

Dante3000 (September 1, 2006)

As for me, I think it's their second best album.
Confucius say: Even the finnest piece of shit, is still a piece of shit.
Okay, so the Casualties aren't that bad but you get the idea.
-Dante

Archangel (September 1, 2006)

Did FYOOO write this in response to Anchors' review?

If so, will any review I write in the future be skipped to the front of the line to perpetuate pissy arguments if it's fanboy whining?

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

fuckxouoioioi is the dumbest dumbfuck (sic) I´ve ever witnessed.I bet fat mike would be ashamed if he knew he has such an idiotic fan.

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

But this review was by Fuckyouoioioi... he exists solely to promote the casualties and the like! Fair review my ass!!!

MikeStupid (September 1, 2006)

Good to see a Casualties review that doesn't exist purely to tear the band down. Last weeks review was so blatantly biased against the band that could have been written before the album came out.

Anonymous (September 1, 2006)

more political punk? find something else to write about already

john_stone (September 1, 2006)

Good review for an okay record. But more importantly, this review was NECESSARY after last week's fiasco.

JayTee (September 1, 2006)

Ooo! A fair minded review of a Casualties album for once. Nice. This is a rad album. Although to be honest, the review on this site for "On The Front Line" was god-damn hysterical.

Positive Y axis the punx!!!

SalsaShark (September 1, 2006)

My favorite review EVER.

maybe.

arrhythmia (September 1, 2006)

This band sucks.

*Name drop screamo*

colin (September 1, 2006)

up tha punx

dusticles (September 1, 2006)

"As for me, I think it's their second best album."

sorry dude....thats like saying this is the best chicago cubs season in the last twenty years....but really it doesnt mean shit in 100 years of futility

joeg (September 1, 2006)

"But the album is not perfect"

understatement of the year.

GlassPipeMurder (September 1, 2006)

duhdeduh

Dante3000 (September 1, 2006)

haha...Silly review for a silly album.
-Dante

Mute98 (September 1, 2006)

teh revolt and the casualties should do a PUNX tour!

BrendanKelly (September 1, 2006)

i agree. great album.

Scruffy (September 1, 2006)

I'm only mad about this getting reviewed again because I wanted the dialogue about this album to stop.