I am a long time fan of Breed 77 I first saw them live in 2003 and have followed them ever since. I’ve seen the band live around 15 times and have never been let down by them. The self titled album which was fantastic, raw heavy and unapologetic was a sign of the great things to come and In 2004 Breed 77 released Cultura one of the best metal albums I have ever heard giving many of my other more publicised classics a run for their money. Not a single moment of that album was wasted. Every second of that record was just pure gold. I didn’t believe they could top Cultura............. and they in 2006 In my blood was released. The album was epic, more a piece of art manifested in sound than just a metal album this piece of music really pushed the boundaries and really changed me as a person in terms of how I connected with music. So of course in the three years since In my blood I have been waiting almost impatient for their full studio outing.
Overview: So after all this time we have Insects. The album consists of ten brand new tracks and two bonus cuts, one of which is a cover of ‘he Cranberries ‘Zombie’, a nice touch for them to add as this was previously only available on the download only “Look at me now EP”. But this album for all it’s promise is just not up to the standard of their last two studio albums. It is not for lack of trying as it is obvious that the band have put a lot of time and effort and anybody who has seen them on tour in the last three years will testify that the fire burns inside the hearts of Breed 77 but Insects, while it has its great moments it never truly has the epic moments or ‘La Ultima Hora’ or ‘Look at me now’. I almost feel like this band didn’t know where to go with this album so they have decided to return to their “roots” and make a very heavy and harsh sounding album. The album just seems like it doesn’t really know what it is, even the art work is a bit of a letdown. This is a tactic that I have seen many bands use and with varying degrees of success. Korn did it with Take a look in the mirror and they failed horribly, while Paradise Lost returned to the “classic” sound after years of experimental and electro work with In Requiem and more so with their latest album.
Breed 77 gave us two albums of pure class that were mind-blowing, boundary pushing and yet they never achieved the commercial success they deserved and on Insects we hear a lot of rage and vitriol from the band against society, politics, War, the music industry Insects and even the masses at large! ‘Insects’ Is a metaphor for all those people that follow the leader without their own mind, and there is a lot of political commentary on this record. While it may not be the best Breed 77 album on a technical and musical level it is by far the most socially and politically relevant work that have made to date. Breed come from Gibraltar but they are a very British band, and this album addresses many issues and questions that need to be addressed in relation to this country’s foreign adventures and the problems we have with our political system.
Track by track
Wake up – The clock ticking, Breed want us to remember they have been away. This one builds up. A grungy wall of metallic sound assaults us. This is a heavy number and is one of the best songs on the album. Some reviews say this should not have been the opening track but I disagree. Breed 77 don’t beat around the bush and this track hits the target. It’s in the vein of Worlds on fire from Cultura. I personally prefer the Spanish version of this song; however it is not included on the disc. 5/5
The Battle of Hattin – If you heard this on tour you may remember it as the “Horns of Hattin” but it changed name. The Intro reminds me of Petroleo another blast, this one is a rollercoaster ride. Even in the more subdued moments of the track the power is just brewing under the surface and ready to explode. Cutting in a epic break down and some great solo work this track is great but at almost six minutes it starts to burn itself out towards the end. 4.5/5
Revolution on my mind – This track is an example of where I feel the album does start to go wrong. This track is very basic for a Breed 77 song, almost punkish. Follows a basic Nu metal type verse – chorus – verse –chorus breakdown - build up – hard ending. Reminds me of a song called “Revolution” by One minute science, who were friends of Breed 77 incidentally. I also feel the lyrics are a bit bellow Breed 77 standard too. 2.5/5
Insects – Title track so we expect big things. The Gibraltan mafia don’t disappoint. An anti establishment assault against the “Insects that rule the world” Fast punchy verses that throw me back to Vol. 1 and the Message era but with classic Breed 77 melody and technical expertise. A real Spanish flavour is apparent on this track one of the albums big hitters, this will be a great track to hear live and will probably remain a live staple for many years to come perhaps as with ‘Hattin’ it losses itself towards the end in a rather long and drawn out outro. 4.5/5
Who am I – A bouncy track with some different timing changes. Would appear to be about a relationship break up so it leaves the path of Socio-political themes that are on the rest of the album. Solo breaks in before the half way mark and only lasts a few seconds. It’s not bad, but again it’s not one of the classic moments of the album by a long way. Probably doesn’t need to be over five minutes long either. 3/5
New disease – Promising start with some very down tuned bass and then accompanied by some really crunchy guitar work. The tempo up’s. Unfortunately this is not one of the albums highlights and actually descends into something that sounds like it would be more at home on ‘Chinese democracy’ and ends up following a similar formula as the rest of the album. Track seems confused as to what it is, with Breed battling to keep it heavy when they song seems to take a life of its own and wants to drive into slow flamenco territory. 2/5
One more time – Bit of a “Refuse Resist” style into. More of the same really. Lyrics are pretty disappointing too. Pretty much follows the same formula as the prior track........ Doesn’t have anything that makes it stand out from the crowd. 2/5
In the Temple of Ram: Rise of the bugs – Fantastic. The album returns to form with this instrumental track that showcases the bands talents as merging both metal, Flamenco and now even more typically eastern influences. No complaints about this one as it has everything musically you expect and demand from a Breed 77 album. 5/5
Forever – One of the stand out tracks of the album. Paul Isola doesn’t mess about he tells it like it is about the men that go to war for the country. Has the typical Breed 77 bounce. Never loses any steam and will most defiantly be a mosh pit favourite. 5/5
Guerra del sol – Intro is very similar feel to fan favourite ‘La Ultima Hora’ but much heavier after the song really kicks in. A good track, and a good way to end the album, but it’s epically long and attempts to be something it really was never going to be. 3/5
Bonus Track’s - Zombie and Insectos (Spanish version of the title track)
So in conclusion this is a good album. The content is great, and the message they are trying to put across is one that people want to hear and need to hear. But it falls sort of the bench mark set by their earlier work. When it’s good it’s very good but it lacks consistency across the entire album. I will give this album 4/5 but really, I would argue it should be more around the 3.5 mark. I hope Breed 77 carry on, and I’m sure they will. I will continue supporting them but It will be interesting to see how this albums is viewed in the scheme of things after they have released two or three more. As it stands now Insects is the angry, frustrated potentially gifted but unfocused brother to three much more levelled albums, two of which (Cultura and In my blood) are modern metal classics.
