Review by Michael on April 7, 2025.

Making some ugly, dirty punk songs sound even uglier and dirtier than the original is pretty hard, I guess. But the Italian scumbags Whiskey Ritual really got it with their latest EP Still Scum. On that one everything smells like a mixture of cold sweat, urine and spilled beer (and when you ever have attended a gig of these guys you know what I'm talking about).

Kicking off with a very grimm version of Sham 69's "Borstal Breakout" the listener gets a knock on his nose with this lesson in punk. The vocals sound as if vocalist Dorian Bones is gurgling at least one bottle of Whiskey in the morning for some really fresh breath. This one is really a vicious version of the song originally released in 1978.

"We're Coming Back" is another cool classic that sounds much nastier than the original by Cock Sparrer. Actually the original one sounds like a song my grandma would listen to at teatime compared to the Whiskey Ritual version. Again the vocals sound so rotten and sick and kind of vomited out and the instruments just burst brutally and buzzsawing through the speakers. This is some sick punk indeed!

The most unusual song (and probably with the least PC on the EP) is "Mongoloid" by Devo. Originally not really a punk song (at least I wouldn't say so) and some more electronic / 70s rock track the Italians dress it as some kind of punk / metal song with growling vocals and gang shouts. Again, great work and totally different from the original.

Apropos being totally different from the original – "Real Wild Child" by Iggy Pop is so estranged from the original version that I actually didn't recognize it. Only after looking it up on the internet, I realized that I knew that song for many years. But this version really fits into what Whiskey Ritual is performing since their first album In Goat We Trust: cool black metal punk with harsh tremolo picks you can have a drink or two to and party hard.

Closest to the original is "Get Off My Back" which was released in 2001 (so actually you cannot talk of a real punk classic). This one is the fastest and most aggressive song where mostly the vocals differ from each other. Nevertheless it also turned out very cool and spreads a lot of energy and sort of a rough atmosphere.

Now the question remains "Who Will Save Rock n' Roll" (originally performed by The Dictators in 2001)? I guess the answer is clear – if anybody can, then it is Whiskey Ritual. This is an anthemic end of a cool EP with a huge party factor. So hey, ho, let's go!!! Time for Rock n' Roll and some Whiskeys!!!

I only wished they would have made a full album out of that because the six songs are over way too soon.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Michael on April 7, 2025.

Making some ugly, dirty punk songs sound even uglier and dirtier than the original is pretty hard, I guess. But the Italian scumbags Whiskey Ritual really got it with their latest EP Still Scum. On that one everything smells like a mixture of cold sweat, urine and spilled beer (and when you ever have attended a gig of these guys you know what I'm talking about).

Kicking off with a very grimm version of Sham 69's "Borstal Breakout" the listener gets a knock on his nose with this lesson in punk. The vocals sound as if vocalist Dorian Bones is gurgling at least one bottle of Whiskey in the morning for some really fresh breath. This one is really a vicious version of the song originally released in 1978.

"We're Coming Back" is another cool classic that sounds much nastier than the original by Cock Sparrer. Actually the original one sounds like a song my grandma would listen to at teatime compared to the Whiskey Ritual version. Again the vocals sound so rotten and sick and kind of vomited out and the instruments just burst brutally and buzzsawing through the speakers. This is some sick punk indeed!

The most unusual song (and probably with the least PC on the EP) is "Mongoloid" by Devo. Originally not really a punk song (at least I wouldn't say so) and some more electronic / 70s rock track the Italians dress it as some kind of punk / metal song with growling vocals and gang shouts. Again, great work and totally different from the original.

Apropos being totally different from the original – "Real Wild Child" by Iggy Pop is so estranged from the original version that I actually didn't recognize it. Only after looking it up on the internet, I realized that I knew that song for many years. But this version really fits into what Whiskey Ritual is performing since their first album In Goat We Trust: cool black metal punk with harsh tremolo picks you can have a drink or two to and party hard.

Closest to the original is "Get Off My Back" which was released in 2001 (so actually you cannot talk of a real punk classic). This one is the fastest and most aggressive song where mostly the vocals differ from each other. Nevertheless it also turned out very cool and spreads a lot of energy and sort of a rough atmosphere.

Now the question remains "Who Will Save Rock n' Roll" (originally performed by The Dictators in 2001)? I guess the answer is clear – if anybody can, then it is Whiskey Ritual. This is an anthemic end of a cool EP with a huge party factor. So hey, ho, let's go!!! Time for Rock n' Roll and some Whiskeys!!!

I only wished they would have made a full album out of that because the six songs are over way too soon.

Rating: 8 out of 10

Review by Michael on April 7, 2025.

Making some ugly, dirty punk songs sound even uglier and dirtier than the original is pretty hard, I guess. But the Italian scumbags Whiskey Ritual really got it with their latest EP Still Scum. On that one everything smells like a mixture of cold sweat, urine and spilled beer (and when you ever have attended a gig of these guys you know what I'm talking about).

Kicking off with a very grimm version of Sham 69's "Borstal Breakout" the listener gets a knock on his nose with this lesson in punk. The vocals sound as if vocalist Dorian Bones is gurgling at least one bottle of Whiskey in the morning for some really fresh breath. This one is really a vicious version of the song originally released in 1978.

"We're Coming Back" is another cool classic that sounds much nastier than the original by Cock Sparrer. Actually the original one sounds like a song my grandma would listen to at teatime compared to the Whiskey Ritual version. Again the vocals sound so rotten and sick and kind of vomited out and the instruments just burst brutally and buzzsawing through the speakers. This is some sick punk indeed!

The most unusual song (and probably with the least PC on the EP) is "Mongoloid" by Devo. Originally not really a punk song (at least I wouldn't say so) and some more electronic / 70s rock track the Italians dress it as some kind of punk / metal song with growling vocals and gang shouts. Again, great work and totally different from the original.

Apropos being totally different from the original – "Real Wild Child" by Iggy Pop is so estranged from the original version that I actually didn't recognize it. Only after looking it up on the internet, I realized that I knew that song for many years. But this version really fits into what Whiskey Ritual is performing since their first album In Goat We Trust: cool black metal punk with harsh tremolo picks you can have a drink or two to and party hard.

Closest to the original is "Get Off My Back" which was released in 2001 (so actually you cannot talk of a real punk classic). This one is the fastest and most aggressive song where mostly the vocals differ from each other. Nevertheless it also turned out very cool and spreads a lot of energy and sort of a rough atmosphere.

Now the question remains "Who Will Save Rock n' Roll" (originally performed by The Dictators in 2001)? I guess the answer is clear – if anybody can, then it is Whiskey Ritual. This is an anthemic end of a cool EP with a huge party factor. So hey, ho, let's go!!! Time for Rock n' Roll and some Whiskeys!!!

I only wished they would have made a full album out of that because the six songs are over way too soon.

Rating: 8 out of 10