Punk music has always been a powerful tool when it comes to expressing oneself in reaction to the horror unfolding in the world. Anti-War sentiment has been utilized by punk bands since its inception, and as we all try to come to terms with the atrocities being committed in Gaza, more and more voices are using the genre to speak out against the powers responsible for the current state of Palestine and its people. Enter IKHRAS (“Shut Up” in Arabic), a new band with members based in Brighton and London playing head-splitting hardcore sung in Arabic and English. Employing the muscle-bound sound of Boston Hardcore, Ikhras blast through five tracks on their debut tape Jahanam Btistana (“Hell Awaits”), leaving no stone unturned as they rail against religious intolerance and western close-mindedness. Out on Quality Control HQ, this tape is an absolute beast that speaks for itself, but I’ll leave you with this line from closer “El Nahr”:
As long as I’m in the west / I’ll be wasting my breath / We chant for freedom / They chant for our death / Until the day we see our people free / From the river to the sea for you I bleed.
