SINGLE REVIEW: Halberd - South East Scum

The dogged and determined upwards journey to be one of the most exciting and prolific bands in the UK underground shows no signs of letting up for the lads in Halberd. Straight off the back of the fantastic Drinks All Round EP a mere two months ago, the modern metal band from Southeast London are back with another vicious assault of the senses with the snappily titled new single South East Scum.

If your ears have had the pleasure of the aural battering from previous Halberd releases, you’ll know what this new cut of wax is likely to offer. Halberd don’t do subtle but then they don’t need to. They do what they want to and thankfully for us, what they want continues to be a scathing communion of crushing thrash metal, monstrous riffs and good old fist pumping choruses! With more than a whiff of classic heavy metal and NWOBHM catchiness oozing through the track, the boys waste no time in instantly pulling you into their ferocious but wholly satisfying thrash metal charm. Make no mistake, South East Scum is a brutal beast of a single but don’t let the intense groove filled wall of noise hide the cute song writing and wonderful musical flair on offer. 

With a classy and joyously gratifying lead guitar solo appearing early doors, the momentum steam rolls on with the snap of Casey’s unmistakable bark, as gutsy and unique as ever. Equipped with a rapturous gang chant chorus and a searing energy, South East Scum will surely become a live favourite. The spoken word parts are worth paying attention to. Depicting various amusing examples of what goes on within Halberd’s world, they again add a clever dynamic to an already gripping blast of metal. For band who have a great sense of humour and always inject fun into their music and not in a gimmicky way, Halberd should be applauded for their song writing chops and the strength and tightness of the playing. The outgoing solo is sumptuous! Drenched in classic metal flavours it all ends too soon, as indeed does the whole song. 

South East Scum is a celebration of rising up against those that look down on you, those condescending naysayers that view anything alternative as failure and simply wrong. There is nothing more honest than being true to yourself, where you’ve come from and holding your values close to your heart. Yeah, those thrashy back streets where Halberd came from may be on the unfavourable side of town, but they are proud of those dark, gritty places they call home. South East Scum is a galvanising rallying cry which translated in musical terms is pure life affirming Heavy Fuckin’ Metal!

South East Scum is out on all major streaming platforms on Friday 21st June

Review by Robbie Maguire.