Troops Of Tomorrow

I’ve been listening to punk for longer than I care to remember but I’m not really sure why T’Exploited were a band I avoided for so long. An unhealthy fear of mohawks? Confusion at the band’s unorthodox grammar (“Punks Not Dead”? Surely there should be an apostrophe in there)? Whatever the case I doubt that I was alone, there is a fair deal of bad press surrounding T’Exploited. Whereas the music is urgent, tense and vital, T’Exploited’s image is well, cartoonish. This is not to say that Ramones and The Damned before them weren’t cartoonish it’s just that T’Exploited seem so deadly serious, even if they do look like some punk version of The Beano. However, this album won me over straight away with its ripping energy and instantly memorable songs. Musically, it’s pretty obvious that anyone who’s heard a punk record in his/her life knows pretty much what to expect here. It’s like a postcard for the genre: fast, abrasive, rough as hell and yet still thoroughly catchy. If anything, this is 100% punk, it sounds as if the band destroyed any albums in their collection from before 1976 just in case it might happen to influence them. This is pretty much as pure as it gets; no pop, no new wave, no metal… just straight-up hardcore aggression. The title track - originally by The Vibrators - shows a change of pace and it’s the best example of the more ‘musical’ approach on Troops of Tomorrow. On first listen I was actually reminded of Motorhead’s ‘Orgasmatron’ both have that droning, ominous feel about them. There’s something genuinely sinister about it, and those stomping rhythms sound quite ‘totalitarian’ if you know what I mean. Wattie’s double-tracked vocals sound really horrid (in the best possible way) and an such a menacing vibe to the song. I’d actually say it’s a far superior to the original.

Ripped from the 2004 Harry May reissue to bone-crushing FLAC

The Exploited; Troops Of Tomorrow

1.      Jimmy Boyle

2.      Daily News

3.      Disorder

4.      Alternative

5.      Fuck The U.S.A.

6.      Rapist

7.      Troops Of Tomorrow

8.      UK 82

9.      Sid Vicious Was Innocent

10.   War

11.   They Won’t Stop

12.   So Tragic

13.   Germs

More from Scotland’s finest here