By Jim Rowland
At the forefront of the anarchist punk movement of the 1980s, and picking up the baton as the leading lights from Crass when they dissolved in 1984, Conflict struck terror into the heart of the government and the police force at the time. Now they’re back with their first new album in over two decades, ‘This Much Remains’, and they still have plenty to say…
It’s perhaps hard to imagine now just how terrified the State was of Conflict and the anarchist punk movement in the 1980s. At the peak of their powers in 1987 they performed the infamous ‘Gathering of the 5,000’ concert at London’s Brixton Academy, an event this writer was at, which culminated in a Police-manufactured riot whereby they shut down all means of transport after the concert, preventing the crowd from leaving the area, antagonizing and provoking. Considerable damage and injury ensued. The longer term repercussion was that it left Conflict in significant debt and banned from the majority of major London and ÜK venues, although they were far from defeated and have gigged and made sporadic album releases ever since. ‘This Much Remains’ though, is the first new album since 2003’s ‘There’s No Power Without Control’, and sees Conflict in fine form and with a re-vamped line-up including additional vocalist Fiona Friel, who makes a hugely powerful contribution, joining original vocalist Colin Jerwood.
There is of course plenty for Conflict to sing about in 2025, with many of the issues they addressed back in the day just as relevant, perhaps even more so, today. As they proclaim on ‘The Collusion Exclusion’, “it’s the same old system and the same old song, forty years later and they’ve still got it wrong”.
The opening ominous soundscape of ‘The Impossible Soul’, echoing ‘The Ungovernable Force’s ‘You Cannot Win’, is reassuringly familiar and signals Conflict are back with a vengeance as the hard and fast punk rock of the title track lets the battle commence. The likes of ‘Masters Of The Race?’, ‘Shut The Fuck Up’ and ‘A Mothers Milk’ follow a similar fast and furious path, whilst the likes of ‘Rebellion’s in Session (Again)’, ‘When the Lights Go Out’, ‘Echoes’ and ‘A Message to Them’ provide further solid slices of punk angst at a slightly slower pace.
‘Cut The Crap’ is a great punk/reggae fusion featuring the voice of the late great Benjamin Zephaniah, and the dub reggae vibe continues on the outstanding ‘Statement of Intent’. Other excursions from the pure punk include the atmospheric and poetic ‘That Other Song’ and ‘Concluded’, and the dark and dramatic ‘Inferno’.
Whether they are addressing animal rights and the environmental disaster, or attacking ongoing globalisation or the mega-rich megalomaniacs we are all familiar with today, there is plenty of lyrical food for thought here, as there has always been with Conflict.
Still instantly recognizable as Conflict, respecting their past while embracing the present, ‘This Much Remains’ is a triumphant return for these punk legends. Still relevant, still vital, still angry and still an ungovernable force.
- ‘This Much Remains’ will be released on Friday (25 April).