Album review : BIOHAZARD – Urban Discipline and No Holds Barred, Live In Europe (2 CD Deluxe Digipack)

Cherry Red [release date: 14.03.23]

New York band Biohazard are credited with fusing hardcore metal, punk and hip hop. Five years after formation they signed with Roadrunner Records and released their groundbreaking album, Urban Discipline.

Urban Discipline (1992)
This influential opus was critically acclaimed by the music media, singled out for its “sound of the street” authenticity and hard hitting social commentary. Many critics recognised the band’s musical expertise and welcomed its ability to rub shoulders with MTV, as well as sharing stages with the usual rap/ metal/ hardcore suspects, like Kyuss and Fishbone.

‘Punishment’ was the band’s calling card. They dared include an attractive melody line in among the song’s tailored noise and that got them radio airplay. Not far behind, many tracks, particularly ‘Mistaken Identity’ and ‘Hold My Own’ plugged into the cultural vacuum that was life in the inner city. A nerve and had been struck and the album sold.

No Holds Barred – Live in Europe (1997)
The band reached peak Biohazard on that tour. Each gig saw a tighter band and a sharper sound. One more notch up the dial and Biohazard’s whirlwind of noise would’ve blasted the flesh off your bones.

Truly memorable songs like ‘Tales From The Hard Side’ and ‘Shades Of Grey’ build the tension till it’s as taut as a drumskin, eventually letting loose an outpouring of targeted emotion.

With Biohazard live it’s all about stories and spectacle. ‘Survival Of The Fittest’, the fabulously titled ‘Black and White And Red All Over’ and many many more whipped up the crowd into a frenzy time after time on that tour, with the New York Times reporting: “Audience members dove off the stage four at a time as Biohazard flailed at its guitars. The entire floor was a typhoon of slamming bodies and colourful tattoos.”

And that just about sums up the entire Biohazard aesthetic.

Both CDs have a generous compliment of bonus tracks, mainly in live and demo form, giving us a massive 44 tracks.

And after an 8 year hiatus, the band is back together, with major tours planned for 2023, including Bloodstock and Dynamo Metalfest. Life and old dogs… etc etc *****

Review by Brian McGowan

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