Box of Rules – Tax Wealth, Not Work: Post-Hardcore for the Post-Brexit Class War Dystopia –

Socialism ignites against sonic brutalism in Tax Wealth, Not Work, the post-hardcore juggernaut by Brighton-based insurgent powerhouse, Box of Rules. Built for anyone feeling crushed by an economy dead-set on grinding the working class into dust, the single feels like hearing class consciousness with its jaw wired shut and still screaming through blown-out amplifiers.

The lyrics could have been written by Gary the Economist after he had been injected with venom and dosed up with volition, turning fiscal rage into something far more blood-hot than a slogan. Box of Rules understands how visceral catharsis can feel when political language escapes the pamphlet and starts a pit. The vocals snipe through a cadence that recalls the political punk fire of Bob Vylan and Hyphen as the surrounding force drags post-hardcore into a more theatrically feral dimension.

The symphonic bass-growl-driven instrumentals break down the usual parameters of post-hardcore, barreling through hypersonic echoes of FalKKonE and Nekrogoblikon with economy-crushed fury at the wheel. There is theatricality to the performance, but it feeds the rage of rattling around in this scorched Anthropocene instead of glossing over it.

It was about time we got a budget-day panic attack weaponised into sonic protest. Stream it now on all available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast