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REVIEW – When people talk about a band like Mordred, they always start with when they first discovered the band. I think for me, it was on Headbangers Ball when I saw this band telling me that “Every Day’s a Holiday”. You had this thrash band from the Bay Area scene who incorporated a dj to do scratching. Where bands like Anthrax were dipping their feet in the rap field, Mordred were thrown in the deep water of it. Their debut album “Fool’s Game” was such a different thrash record that I fell in love with it from the first listen. Nothing wrong with a rock star in the making knocking me for working hard to earn a dime while he sits on his ass. All jokes aside, songs like “Reckless Abandon” and their version of “Super Freak” showed how versatile of a band they were. The follow up “In This Life” was a masterpiece. It was during this time that I discovered that their EP’s were just as great. “Lion’s Den” is such an underrated song by this band. They also kill their cover of Thin Lizzy. Speaking of EP’s that is how the Scott Holderby era ended.
“Vision” was not so much a thrash meets rap affair. It was more of a softer and more calm attack. I dug the majority of it, but you could tell the band was not fully invested in it. I feel Paul Kimball tried his best to fill the lead singer shoes that Scott left. “The Next Room” was such a mixed bag. It was all over the place with zero difference. The passion of old school Mordred was dead in favor of this modern radio version that just failed more than succeeded. As fate would have it around 2013, rumors were saying that Mordred was back. They did this before in 2001. Fans were excited at the thought of what this band would deliver. Just as fast the band disappeared. This time they seem to cement the comeback with two new songs. “The Baroness” and “Channel Zero”. 6 years later we have a four song EP from them. “Volition” is the title and the results are well read on. We get the 2020 version of “The Baroness”. I like the original version better, but this one is good for what it is. It sounds more raw and less polished than the one that came out 6 years ago did. “Not For You” surprised me. This is what I expected from Mordred today. I knew they would deliver something that you can dive face first in a mosh pit while getting a message.
Scott seems to be the old bitter rock guy who wants to be angry punk. There is nothing wrong with it, we all can fit the mold. “What Are We Going To Do” is all about “Pause” and what he does. If you liked “Closed Minded” in the past, this song’s for you. I dig when they throw rocks in the sandbox and go for it. “Love of Money” is a hard song to really get into. If you know the past of this band, you feel underwhelmed by songs like this. I get they want to show people they did not forget their roots. But, roots like this need to be buried and come across as stale on the scale. As a whole, I dig the majority of this EP. I am a Mordred fan, and I want to see them make a comeback. The problem is this music scene in 2020 is not 1989, 1991 or even 1992. In 2020, if songs like “Downtown” or even “In This Life’ were new they would not be the classics they were back then. They would have all these idiots with zero sense hating on it on boards. That is the path we are on. Think about how toxic the music world is with the internet, we are just at the tip of where it can go. This ep is fine for what it is. I hope we get more from them. I really dug most of the songs and it made me happy to see that the band is back doing their thing. I would love Red Rider, Nymphs and Paper Lace reunions as well.
