Bokassa – All Out Of Dreams

 

 

Bokassa – All Out Of Dreams
Indie Recordings – 2024
Rock, Punk, Hardcore, Skate, Stoner, Metal
Rated: ***

The kings of stonerpunk are back! Bokassa! The Norwegian three are releasing a new ten track wrecking ball called All Out Of Dreams. This time around we could be extremely short and sweet by stating that they have now also become kings of stonerhardcore. And be done with it. For many of the tracks have this very old school New York Hardcore vibe, some even sounding like proper anthems of that genre. Straight Edglord for instance. Perhaps also thanks to the production done by Tue Madsen, known for his work with Madball, Sick of It All and many more. Or because Lou Koller from Sick Of It All guests on second track Garden of Heathen. But of course, punk and hardcore are genres that always cozy up to each other like a basket full of fluffy little kittens. Most stoner metal track on the new album might be Bradford Death Squadron which features Aaron Beam from Red Fang. But even that track has a certain bridge which goes back to the hardcore scene. All Out Of Dreams is also the last albums before the band was out of a member. Parting ways with a member after a new album was just recorded is always hard, but with bassist and vocalist Bård Linga leaving the band, we hope they will find a player who can put the same kind of oomph and choppiness into his playing. Did his reluctance to continue this wild Bokassa adventure seep through in the music? We can’t be sure. But there’s a level of resignation that seems to have gotten hold of the lyrics. Even so, Bokassa does seem to enjoy that fatalism. All Out Of Dreams, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy the final stretch towards the end. The grooviest and laziest track on the album is Gung Ho, which still packs a thundering loudness like a crack in the sky before a storm commences. And that storm, comes in the form of the following No More Good Days, which may be one of the most explosive ones on the album. And then there’s closing song Crush (All Heretics), another off-set from the All Out Of Dreams mold, for this is doomier, sludgier and yet has this slow melodic refrain to bring it all home. And after all that stomping, pounding and thrashing, All Out Of Dreams in laid to rest with a slow punch. It might not be a knock-out album, but it will surely make you enjoy the beating…  

(Written by JK)

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