Album Review: Maid of Ace - “Live Fast Or Die”

 

Sometimes it takes a band going on hiatus for a bit to make you realise how much you miss them when they’re not about and such is the case with Hastings punk-metallers Maid of Ace. With two good albums (2014's self-titled album and 2016's Maid In England) under their belt, the band announced they were going on a temporary hiatus a few years back but have reunited this year to bring us their third album and right from the moment opener Let's Go kicks in with a force ten gale "OI! OI! OI! OI!" chant, you can tell we're in for a good one here.

Basically, Live Fast Or Die is pretty much a straight continuation of the first two Maid of Ace albums - songs like the title track hit you like a concrete boxing glove to the jaw and the heaviness doesn't drop off at all. Oh sure, songs like This Is War might be a little bit longer than yer average MOA tune and Repent may have a sinister whispered intro but they're still ferociously heavy with rabid vocals, razor-sharp guitars and pounding drums with the band sounding supremely tight.

Live Fast Or Die is definitely one of the most ferociously angry albums I've heard this year and it's perhaps no coincidence that the highlights here come with tracks like The Terror and Energy (which has an intro sounding oddly like Sepultura covering Judas Priest's Breaking The Law) where the band well and truly pile in with all the force of a tornado leaving you needing to catch your breath afterwards. It's only on Forever that they drop the tempo slightly to reflect the more thoughtful doomy lyrics but even here they still pack the sort of bite that'd have most of their contemporaries running for the hills.

All in all, Live Fast Or Die really does mark Maid of Ace out as one of the best punk bands in Britain today. Brutally heavy but with enough of an ear for melody to prevent their material from drifting into unlistenability this is a great album. Highly recommended - stream or download from the Maid of Ace Bandcamp page pronto if you know what's good for you.

NITE SONGS RATING: 🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌕🌑 (9/10)

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