Remember, remember the 5th of November, "Gunpowder, Treason and Plot." But
Sadaharu's own memory is faulty if they're trying to rally a revolution by evoking Guy Fawkes; they've obviously confused Hollywood (V for Vendetta) with history. Leader of the failed 1605 conspiracy to blow up England's Parliament, the only freedom Fawkes was fighting for was the freedom to reimpose Catholicism on a decidedly Protestant nation. He ended up hung, drawn, quartered, and annually burnt in effigy ever since for his efforts; but let's not let facts get in the way of a good rabble-rousing. And rabble-rousing is what
Sadaharu's
Resist. Revolt. Reclaim. is all about, but for a far better cause than the one Fawkes' espoused. Across ten tracks and nine diatribes,
Sadaharu's set out to rip the blinders from the public's eyes and force them to confront reality. The song titles themselves are blueprints aimed at raising consciousness and rallying forth the troops. "Gunpowder" sets the plot in motion, "A Measured Response to an Obvious Inequity" of our economy, whose comforts turns the public into subservient sheep. "We need a new direction,"
Sadaharu shout, it's time to "raise a glass -- a toast to the end of the ruling class." But it's difficult to declare class warfare when the country has become fat and complacent, more interested in fashion than righting society's ills. No wonder the band rages "Our souls are running black, for their misdeeds are our misdeeds. Tethered by blind allegiance, our conscience can't be cleaned." Obviously
Sadaharu are preaching to the choir, for such polemics are unlikely to win new converts. But the choir is growing everyday, and the band's frustration, anger, and obvious passion will resonate with any who religiously follow the news. With their tag team vocals, à la the
Beastie Boys, accompanied by hard hitting, hardcore, hard rocking backings boasting just enough melody to pull in the punters,
Sadaharu pick up where the likes of Propaghandi left off. Their cause may be as hopeless as Fawkes' seemed to be, but the world today is in desperate need of subversion, treason, and rebellion: let the revolution start here. ~ Jo-Ann Greene