[engl] Chisel this, Chisel that” — it’s on my phone, it’s on my hard drives, it’s on my turntable, it’s on my t-shirt, it’s on my Instagram, it’s on my blogspot, it’s tattooed on my forehead, my own parents renewed their wedding vows to “Rat Running Scared.” I pressed stop. I unplugged my headphones, turned down the volume, and snapped that god forsaken single in HALF. Enough was enough! But see me, yeah. Once the music stopped only one thought rang through my head: What Have I Done? Where once there was explosive energy there was now a void. Lucky for me, the 5 loveable lads from Blackpool, Croydon, Acton, Chingford, and Guildford KEPT IT MOVIN, and just when I thought all was lost they brought me back in. Three more blasts of full fat extra saturated deep fried limb swinging confrontational uplifting chisel chiselling punk for that special space in your life. Enough said? No. Cos they’ve done it again.

[engl] Explosive new music from The Chisel bringing the edifying and restorative powers of the great British folk tradition back to the table for a staggering next pint. Just when you thought you were fucking full, your mouths been winched open and gallons of shards of broken glass guitar, thick bass, and burning howling bilious guts gets poured down your maw. The speed of UK82, the terror of punk, the solid mass of Oi!. Like a bar stool breaking through a bus stop, there’ll always be THE CHISEL. (Jonah Falco)

[engl] It’s going off and The Chisel are back to cause a bit of bovver. Following a trio of explosive singles, the band finally bring us their debut full-length album, Retaliation, on the London-based punk institution La Vida Es Un Mus. Having formed in early 2020 and featuring a crew of members with long-term associations to the London punk scene, The Chisel quickly secured a reputation as one of the most exciting bands from a pool of contemporaries that includes Chubby & The Gang, Stingray and Big Cheese. Their sound is rooted firmly in Punk but with influences that run across the board to create a distinctive blend of Oi!, anarcho, UK-82 and hardcore. Retaliation is an unmistakably British record that draws a line from 1982 up to the present day, pushing its way into your collection and torching your stereo. Opening with the agitated force of ‘Unlawful Execution’, the tone is firmly set by a song that addresses the brutality of the Met Police (“Tell me what’s the difference between right or wrong / When a copper gets to blast a lad who did nothing wrong”). ‘Come See Me’ is a ferocious ode to camaraderie in the face of mouthy boneheads and bellends. ‘Shit Life Syndrome’ is a poisoned reference to the same cynical phrase used by physicians to describe the effects of people living under poverty and in the grips of substance abuse (“How can you expect people to act nicely, they’ve all been left on the edge of society”). It’s one of many songs influenced by singer Cal’s experiences of growing up in the working-class town of Blackpool. Cal states: “Blackpool as a town is often overlooked or even looked down upon, I wanted to write lyrics which gave the people of my town a voice”. With tunes like these The Chisel show that they’ll never pull any punches. However, beyond the fury and the swagger there’s another side that plays to an additional strength; the ability to write a memorable hook. Songs like ‘Retaliation’, ‘Tooth & Nail’ and ‘Not The Only One’ could be described as modern day anthems (the latter has become a fan favourite since the arrival of their first live shows) and cement their identity as a band not to be defined by their influences.