By: Riefan Novalde |
Total Jerks is an iconic hardcore punk unit from Depok, Indonesia. After releasing their EP album titled “Life is Hate” in 2016, finally they’re back with a full-length album titled “Fear” in October 2018. If you’re really fascinated by local hardcore punk scene, this album should be one of your “must listen” local hardcore punk albums. So, let’s hear what they’ve got to say through this album.
The album starts with “Intro”, a simple introduction and the opening track of the album. This track has a dynamic flow with simple bass and guitar riffs, combined with initially slow and constant drum beats that speed up at the end of the track. Such a good “warmup” to prepare us for the rest of the songs off the album.
The next tracks are “Depresi” and “Sudah Gila”. Living up to their title, these two tracks are dominated by the themes of depression and anger, with sharp, fast, and heavy distortion of guitar riffs. This time around, Total Jerks wants to persuade us to be more conscious about our lives and the world – which is going crazy.
Next, we’ve got “Help Me” and “Tanpa Henti”. “Help Me” is full of anger from the beginning to the end of the track, dominated by the lyrics “I don’t know who I am, help!” which got stuck in my head. Continued by “Tanpa Henti”, this track yells out that we should fight and survive, telling us to never give up. For me, this track is special due to its strong, deep, and persuasive lyrics that always gets me prepared to face the day.
The next three tracks are “Fear”, “Hilang Arah”, and “I Hate Myself”. These tracks are full of hatred and feelings of doubt. In “I Hate Myself” there is a short solo guitar in the middle of the song, which gives a bit of technical dynamics to the track.
Next, we’ll jump to the last two tracks, “Muak” and “Broken Life”. When you’re feeling sick and tired of your life problems, or you’re feeling tired of the system and the society, I think listening to these two tracks would be perfect, or at least these tracks can be an escape from all of your problems, for a while.
Overall, this album consists of 10 songs full of anger and depressing elements, each track played in a short duration most commonly associated as a signature of 80’s hardcore punk. This album was released under Disaster Records (disasterposse.com), while the Japanese version of the album was released under Break The Records (breaktherecords.main.jp). So, listen to this album and be ready to feel Total Jerks’ anger and sadness.
Speed of Sound Magazine 