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IRREAL from Barcelona surprised us last year with a 6 track Demo tape of crude Hardcore which saw the band playing loads both local and internationally. The line up was made up of Barcelona punk scene stalwarts (NUEVA FUERZA, DESTINO FINAL, BARCELONA, ANARQUIA VERTICAL, UNA BÈSTIA INCONTROLABLE) which were not new to writing razor sharp riffs and impossibly catchy yet aggressive beats so their song writing and live performances lived up to the expectations. 2019 saw the band facing guitar player changes and with a new line up they entered studio with Dani Frutos to record the 9 songs on Fi Del Mon. 9 tracks or urgent hardcore punk continuing the tradition of modern Barcelona Hardcore while keeping and eye in Finish hardcore and which are not afraid to turn the speed down to a pace that could bring to mind mid paced DISCHARGE or CRO-MAGS. The riffs are thick and crunchy, full of feedback and distortion, backed by a solid rhythm section and a assertive Catalan voice which makes sure to enunciate every syllable breathing some fresh air to an otherwise stale scene.
Our take: At this point I have to assume that a significant portion of Barcelona’s population plays in a killer hardcore punk band. Here we have yet another one, Irreal, who play the type of heavy, raging, yet progressive hardcore that we love here at Sorry State. While their labelmates Obsessio are as lithe as an assassin, Irreal is more like a heavily armed mercenary. They deal in blunt force, but dole it out with an ease and confidence that belies their experience. This is clear on the longer tracks like “Ens Venen A Salvar.” That tack centers on a crunchy riff broadly in the Discharge tradition, but rather than just laying into it, Irreal dances across it, poking and prodding, finding different ways to accent and embellish it over the track’s two minutes and fifteen seconds. If you come to each new La Vida Es Un Mus release looking for something as smart as it is raging, this will get you amped.