Judda - Total Fucking War

Judda may not be a name familiar to many, many folks within the scene. They were an industrial band in the vein of Ministry and the like, and talent they had. Folks such as Marc Heal of Cubanate have been quoted as saying, "Judda were proper nasty." Their punk attitude and visceral lyrics fueled industrial rock/metal mayhem that was otherwise grand in every sense of the word. The praise they have garnered may leave you wondering as to why they were never really heard of by more than a niche audience. The answer to that is simple: They never released an album so much as an EP, but stuck to compilation records and never ventured forth from that. 

However, thanks to the good folks over at Armalyte Industries, Judda is seeing a what-if sort of release with "Total Fucking War". Armalyte put them altogether on one entire collection with a few extras involved. Those extras include two remixes done by PIG, a bonus backing track version of 'React', and a remix of 'We Know Who You Are'. And, if I may be so bold, I'd like to state that this is perhaps the finest release to come out of Armalyte's entire roster. 

Though the album still has that nineties feel to it, every single song on the album is absolutely amazing and manages to rile up a fire within me. Being that I'm a newcomer to Judda, I'm shocked that they never released a full length album; these guys are killer. Perhaps they purposely only released songs on occasionally compilations to make each one as perfect as they sound. Either way, "Total Fucking War" is a fucking amazing look at a band that could have been so much more than they were. 

Again, their punk attitude reverberates throughout each and every single one of their tracks. 'Bark' is an all out call to arms meant to get a crowd excited and ready to fist fight the nearest mother fucker to them all in the name of anarchy. 'React' is a blend of epic orchestral elements and harsh beats; it's a humorously odd calamity. 'We Know Who You Are' begins off with quotes from "Mad Max", so I already knew I was in love with the track. Perhaps it is the first song that actually has a standard industrial metal sound to it, it was still progressive and fun.

Calmer but still fiery in all the right ways, 'Revenge' took stage. 'Age of Treason' calmed it down even more, focusing on a lounge sort of feel. It was relaxing, unique, and pushed the album forward. 'Dance Like Fools' is pretty self explanatory; its a straightforward song that's meant to make you move and, well, look like an idiot as you attempt to dance to it. 

'Glory Be', 'Slug', and 'Crusade' are all songs that really drop any sort of industrial influence and shoot straight for the punk aesthetic. Lower in quality, and perhaps the weakest point on the album, the songs still pack a punch. 

PIG comes in for two remixes of 'Bark' and 'React'; taking away most of the guitar work, PIG replaced those sounds with digital and analogue sounds making for very odd, robot sounding tunes. I prefer the originals, but these two tracks provide an optional take on the songs and are well enough on their own. Finally, 'We Know Where You Live' hits in last, blending right in between industrial and punk themes both musically and vocally. Other than that, the backing track version of 'React' just makes it an instrumental, and the remix of 'We Know Who You Are' definitely gives it an electronic boost. 

After listening to this album multiple times, I come off "Total Fucking War" with only one hope. And that hope is that Judda will totally fucking come back and deliver some new songs. This varied compilation is impressive in itself, and I'm sure that they'd easily be able to outdo what they've already done in the past. 

For now, check this out, and give them a listen if you never have. They definitely deserve your attention. 
Nov 04 2015