Total Chaos – Battered and Smash

After acquainting myself with long running street punk act Total Chaos, I wasn’t entirely shocked that no one had recommended to me them before.  That the band has been around for over twenty years and sounds like any number of overdone anarchopunks with little to say outside of “bring down the government” is telling enough.  Their ninth full length, Battered And Smashed, feels like a washed up bunch of goal-less middle-aged lifers content on going through the motions.

Chalk full with a collection of the most inconsequential, anti-establishment lyrics under one roof, each song feels forced, stale and lifeless.  Opener “Hooligan Holiday” might sound mildly catchy, but the lifeless chorus-call to smash and grab, engage in violence and profanity as a way of life feels hollow.  When bands like Anti-Flag call to rise up they do it with conviction – a sentiment hopelessly absent from indulgent songs like “That’s The Story Of My Life.”  Their attempts at purpose take the form of watered down anthems like “Wake Up America” and “Total Massacre” where they recycle finger-pointing concepts of police brutality, propaganda and corrupt politicians without ever building an argument for their accusations.  In other words, Total Chaos plays the victim without offering solutions or identifying the issues.

To add insult to injury, Battered And Smashed is instrumentally lazy.  Most songs play out like mediocre Lars Frederickton and the Bastads b-sides that should have never made the cut.  “Going Down” marks a true low, with Total Chaos humming along on an organ to a laughably lazy reggae piece in an effort to emulate Rancid’s early years.  Even the few scattered guitar solos feel awkwardly placed and bland, filling up space rather than enhancing a sound.  “Delirium’s” quick pace works, but only for the first thirty seconds – and if you can get past the painful “party-hearty” lyrics.

With so many superior acts overshadowing Total Chaos, Battered And Smashed is for die-hards only.  The album aligns with the argument that the band was built on image, or at least has sustained itself through reputation dating back to its Epitaph Records years.  Street punk should inspire listeners on a grassroots level.  Battered And Smashed stirs nothing but irritation at Total Chaos’ incompetence.