On October 16, Mutiny (from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) released Shot To Hell, the follow up to their 2024 debut EP and one of my absolute favorite projects released this year. Mutiny’s debut was one of the more ambitious and creative projects I’ve ever encountered, and this newest album is exactly the same: A sequel in every sense of the word.
For those unfamiliar with the band Mutiny – in the simplest terms – they are a ska-core band that leans further into the hardcore aspects than the ska aspects: Powerful and aggressive drums and guitars, horns that are perfectly and aggressively implemented, and vocal melodies that manage to stick with you. Mutiny are incredibly talented musicians, storytellers, and songwriters across the board.
Mutiny’s debut EP featured four songs that told a story across four chapters. The first thing that made the project so ambitious is that the album came with four additional tracks. These contained the same backing music, with members of the Japanese ska-core band Flail singing the vocals in Japanese. The entire album was translated, maintaining the cadence, rhythm, rhyme scheme, and meaning of the songs. This was an incredible undertaking.
Then along with the album, there was a manga telling the story from the album. It was the first chapter in an epic story of a war between two worlds, a tale of oppression, resistance, and struggle, with questions of morality and justice. It stemmed from a hardcore vocal translated across languages and brought to life on a page.
A year later, Mutiny went on tour in Korea. They released a second EP, this time with only two songs. Rather than releasing a second version in Japanese, the EP included the songs in Korean as well, with vocals by members of Korean hardcore bands Turn For Our and 18Fevers. The inner cover of the album included a zine that continued the animated storytelling of the album. To reiterate: Two new songs, the same narrative universe, the same amazing storytelling, and an absolutely incredible hardcore ska performance from the band.
So that brings us to today and the band’s most ambitious project yet. This time the album is a full-length: 11 songs. The band has once again teamed up with Frail from Japan, giving the album 11 additional songs all translated and sung in Japanese by Frail’s Ryo and Shinji. (Currently the Japanese versions of the songs are only available on vinyl.) The story continues where it left off after the EP. This becomes as much of a book review as an album review, like a graphic novel with the most incredible hardcore ska soundtrack imaginable.
The album begins with a lone trumpet on “Headed South”, calling to the void. It reminds me of a military ceremony, a bugle calling to the troops and carrying on the wind. After 20 seconds, an upbeat and uptempo drum rhythm joins in and the trumpet fades out. A thick electric guitar joins the fray and the horns soon accompany it, but this time, they are a part of the melody, adding texture to a hardcore song as opposed to an open call on the wind. One guitar maintains a thick rapid melody under the rhythm, driving the song forward throughout. In the song, the main protagonist of this track – different songs are written from different people’s perspective – is being hunted while helping lead a group of enslaved people south to freedom. It’s winter and the journey is long and dangerous, and the people are hungry and injured. Eventually they are surrounded and as they are about to be captured, they jump to their deaths as the chorus of “We’re headed south” continues to ring out.
The second track is “Semester Abroad”. Overall, it has a more aggressive and angry sound as it tells the story of a person who is “slumming it” from the perspective of someone from the “slums.” In the context of the Mutiny universe, this is someone from Earth as the protagonist and someone from Eden who is spending time there, experiencing poverty for the first time. The song has a beautiful slow portion, with an incredible vocal featuring Millie Manders (from Millie Manders and the Shutup) singing “Enjoy your stay,on this pale blue day, make the most of your time here” before picking back up with the dark angry vocals. There are some beautiful saxophone parts as well, before the song ends telling the person that there is no going back now that they have experienced what it’s like for the less fortunate. The song ends by asking: “So are you a tourist or is this a welcoming home?”
“Anthem” is the pre-release single and a brilliant song. The vocals in this song are amazing, the drums are so quick, and the horns are incredible. The chorus is the anthem of Eden, the fictional wealthy state that has wealth and prosperity at the exploitation of others. The chorus is sung with pride and is mixed with Latin to give an heir of glory. The verses on the other hand are angry and speak of the violence that is committed to maintain the façade and the wealth.
My favorite track on the album is “Theseus Pt. II”. The song is so good throughout, but the bridge gets me with the horns followed by a breakdown, and slow heavy music starting to build. The chorus starts to rise quietly, and it feels almost solemn. “Painted into a corner so carelessly, but you were banished here alone. I came willingly. Backed against the wall, but don’t you see? I’m not trapped in here with you, you’re trapped in here with me.” That line repeats a little louder, and a second voice comes in beneath the first, delayed by one line repeating. Then there’s another repeat, a third voice coming in delayed again. The voices sync up for the final reaction: “I’m not trapped in here with you, you’re trapped in here with me.” It’s a masterclass in building and rising tension and execution, not just with the way it was pulled off, but the words that were chosen. Pure excellence.
The album continues with an incredible ska core that I find impossible to describe with any level of satisfaction. While I am not typically a fan of hardcore, I’ve shown this band to people who are, and they all come away impressed. Meanwhile, this is the perfect balance of hardcore and more harmonic or catchy songwriting for me to really enjoy. The horns are well placed and add texture and depth to the hardcore, and while the ska melodies are few and far between, the genre’s influences are present throughout. I don’t know who this comparison is for, as hardcore fans wouldn’t make the connection, and there probably aren’t a lot of ska core bands that know the band I am going to mention. But just in case, this is ska-core like Los Mal Hablados is ska-core: Aggressive, powerful, catchy, political, and far more hardcore than ska, but with a horn section that begs and demands your attention.
As for the story as told through the album, there is a lot of infighting between factions on Earth through much of the album, while Eden is left to their own. The album explores loss, self-discovery, and division through different character’s perspectives (although the songs are written in a way that doesn’t feel like a novel, unless you’ve been following along.) At the end of the album, there is no climax. There is no resolution. Nothing has been solved. This is not the end for this story for this band.
If ever there was a band worth exploring, this is that band. They are incredibly talented at everything they do. They build international bridges and strive to connect American and Asian ska scenes. They truly believe that the world is better with us connected and build bridges to bring people together through their music.
Take a listen to Shot To Hell below.
Written by Gimp Leg
