To be clear, there are punk bands, and then there are bands that refer to themselves as such. The distinction, while subtle, should be evident. Plainly stated, some bands are inherently punk rock while others are merely influenced by the genre and cannot be classified so succinctly. Short of being flat-out posers, the reason certain bands cannot be easily classified stems from being too poppy, too progressive, too metal, too emo, or too (insert whatever stupid descriptor you want to muddy the waters and present your band like some sort of groundbreaking fusion masterpiece). Local San Diego band War Fever need not worry one iota about any such non-sense. They play straight-up-the-middle, in-your-face punk rock!
On their latest release titled Decay of Infamy, the band belts out 11 tracks, the vast majority of which do not exceed the two-minute mark. The songs are fast paced, sketchy, distorted, and delivered with throaty vocals loaded with angst and discontent. Now, doesn’t it sound like I’m describing a punk band? It should. At any rate, in effort to describe War Fever’s sound on a more granular level, I draw a rather unusual comparison. Do you remember the band The Toadies? They are actually a really good band if you ever bothered to look in to them beyond their one massive radio hit, but in 1994, they released a single that blew up called Possum Kingdom. The end of the song presents a memorable moment as vocalist Vanden Todd Lewis repeatedly screams the words, “DO YOU WANNA DIE!!!?” I make this point simply to say that War Fever’s vocalist BJ Anderson very much reminds me of the angry side of Vanden. If you can imagine that harsh vocal style instrumentally backed up by a less polished Bigwig or Good Riddance, then you have a pretty good idea of the flavor that War Fever is bringing to the table. …and it’s a reasonably satisfying fast food meal!
3 out of 5 SDP Skullz
Artist: War Fever
Album: Decay of Infamy
Label: Self Released
Release Date: February 9th, 2018
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Reviewed by Todd Dulawan
