| OK, so, yes, the title is pretentious -- the sound of a band acknowledging that their voice will be heard by quite a few people, which is an unfortunate sound. This doesn’t matter much. Know why? Because Propagandhi is the best rock band in the world. You heard me. Better than Morbid Angel. Better than Emperor, even. It doesn’t matter whether or not you accept their politics: there is just no getting around how great they are. The loss of Samson means a little less melodic sensibility and a little more blind rage, but lead songwriter Chris Hannah has stepped up his craft without compromising his brutality, and the results are rich, gorgeous chords that break through the speakers with the awesome force of waves against the rocks at Malibu. His lyrics, too, are greater than they were before: where once they stunned with their direct, blunt openness, they’ve taken on, for lack of a less loaded word, a certain subtlety. Some of them have to be unpacked before their transparently valid messages reveal themselves; when the picture gels, the thrill is the unmistakable feeling of great rock and roll. “Don’t Fear the Reaper” great. “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” great. “Master of Puppets” great. Look here, Propagandhi don’t believe in copyright, so I’ll just give you one of the shorter lyrics, the entire text to “Ego Fum Papa [I Am the Pope]”: |