Revenge of the Psychotronic Man - 10 Year Anniversary 7"

It’s hard to believe that Revenge of the Psychotronic man have been going for 10 years. 10 years ago, I’d just finished school, probably only really just starting to get into punk and going to gigs properly. It wasn’t till 4-5 years later, when myself and a few mates got our hands on a comp called “Music by People Who Drink Cider in the Gutter” that we found out who this dead noisy, relentless sounding band were. We were all in instant agreement that this was the best possible name for a compilation album, and, I think, probably still is the best one I’ve heard today. We also all agreed that ROTPM were a band we needed to listen to a whole lot more, and so when the split with the Fractions came out, we pooled together our dwindling financial resources to get a copy. We only had 1 copy between 3-4 people, and we rinsed it. Make Pigs Smoke became our pre-gig drinking album that we’d listen to, in my final year at uni. Hell, I still listen to it now if I’m getting drunk, or need to do something really fast when coffee won’t cut it.

The 10 Year Anniversary 7” EP is essential listening for everyone who's been to see this band over the last decade. In 10 years, they’ve become part of an established punk label, played hundreds of gigs across the UK and Europe, assembled what must be thousands of human pyramids, and more recently even did a session for the Radio 1 Punk Show. That’s big stuff! I think what I like most about this 7” is that not only is it still brutally fast, it also sums up what Revenge are about as a band. Anyone who’s heard of TNS Records will know the slogan “Get pissed, talk shit, dance like an idiot”. The vast majority of people who have ever been to a punk gig can relate to it, and are almost certainly still doing it. Rita, Sue and Bob too has been re-recorded and now sounds bigger and noisier than it did in the original 2005 recording. Side B switches things round a bit, with some remixes from the 2012 album, Shattered Dreams Parkway. Definitely a must for fans of bands such as China Shop Bull and Cradle to the Rave, who remixed Things I Have Learned in my Life so Far. The remix of Beer for Breakfast sounds great, however for me it’s the Cradle to the Rave remix which shows that it doesn’t matter if you’re using guitars, or keyboards, or computers, you can still make music sound fast, loud and heavy, which can be sometimes neglected in punk music. Embrace it!

I hope Revenge of the Psychotronic Man keep going for another 10 years and more. Still getting pissed, still talking shit and still dancing like idiots. Let’s hope it never changes.