REVIEW: Rifle - Rifle

The SA80A2 may be the current standard issue firearm of the British army, but the vicious barking out the barrel of RIFLE’s debut self-titled album is more than enough to claim that crown for themselves. FLYNN’s war drums, the rapid assaults on guitar from ALBERT and LOUIS, the march of ROSS on bass- it all compliments the screaming barrage straight from MAX’s lungs in a beautiful, beating cacophony; all too indicative of the best influences from the UK’s Anarcho- and Oi!- punk histories. RIFLE’s debut mosh through British working-class infuriation and anger in the classic punk style may show that the plight of the SHARPs and anarchists of the 80s is a horror continued into the 2020s - but equally shows that the hate for the system is far from dead, only refurbished for the modern age.

Those familiar with the aggressive skanking of the hardcore scenes will find themselves very much at home throughout the L/P: a continuous fast-paced charge of growling sound reverberating through each track, giving near no moment to rest during RIFLE’s sonic barrage. From Soldier Doll to Gauntlet Of Hate, the listener is permanently on a hair-trigger edge, a harmony of sound at one end bobbing and weaving in a dimly lit, oak-furnished pub with fists raised and bloodied, at the other a grand maelstrom held together on the brink, as if the band’s instruments themselves were deep, deep in the pit. RIFLE wear their history and identity on their sleeve, from politics to London sound, and all is brilliantly discernible through the grit-filled chaos.

There is no chorus across any of the tracks that does not inspire a chanting, bellowing singalong, marching alongside the band against the fascistic systems artists since before even the U.K. SUBS have been punching up at. No King provides a grand hooligan marching-drum beat for freedom, showing no time for the melancholy of oppression in favour of raw, pub-fed pumping action. Worthless provides one of the fastest, most movement-inducing tracks of the album, with the backing vocals inflicted by THE CHISEL in association complementing the JOHNNY ROTTEN-esque lyrics from MAX, without any of the PISTOL’s grimier affiliations.

Their anger is not just for show, either; the Rifle LP’s stretch of war songs inflict audio carnage against the status quo, its oppressive yeomanry and petulant charlatans in an authentic, angry, and truly British way. Particularly relevant in RIFLE’s list of rebellions, United State shouts harshly, poignantly against the current growing authoritarianism and apathy of the Western world, demanding progress and the exposure of the ruling classes’ terror in a righteous, most-earned anger. RIFLE are no posers, showing precisely why the barrel of hardcore remains smoking- for “no human being is illegal”, and certainly, how do “you lot sleep at night?” The heart sown directly into their sleeve is audible throughout each song, Bastards echoing well the venerable EXPLOITED; Beat The Bastards may have been released in 1996, but its bloodied demands are just as prevalent, just as frantic, loaded into the RIFLE’s magazine.

A sort of dry, violent anger, classic to pub punk reverberates throughout the entire album. There is one, merciless exception, however. The longest, most distinct sound on the album, Cease And Desist. The album’s longest track begins as any other, albeit its slower opening pace inspires a more cautious rage, before exploding into the RIFLE standard. As the track continues however, its heaven-directed screams change spectacularly - dry anger to wet, vicious chanting of almost jubilant rage turned into a sinister, vindictive rapport. No longer listening to a singer bellowing into a microphone, but a megaphone, the listener is transported to a cobbled street where each word becomes a cutting, protesting wound, reminding the listener of their first life-changing time hearing CRASS’ legendary and blasphemous Reality Asylum, beamed directly from 1979. RIFLE’s debut is guaranteed to grip the listener for its entire duration, the punk equivalent of a wood-furnished pistol grip in quality and savage comfort.

Score: 8/10

Rifle be released on 16th January 2026 via YEAR0001 Records]AR0001 Records]

Words: Jakub Tomasz Czaicki

Photos: Jack Taylor-Gotch