Review: “Vertigo” by The Great Lie

Seasoned veterans in the Hardcore Punk scene, Long Island New Yorkers The Great Lie feature in their ranks former members of Madball, Mind Over Matter, Silent Majority and Neglect and have themselves been treading the boards together since 2018 EP “All Roads Lead To Where You Stand“. Recorded this June, their latest offering “Vertigo” finds vocalist Kerry Merkle and guitarist Mike Scarola, along with drummer John LaFata and bassist Scott Martin dropping a fourth EP in five years, recorded and mixed by Jast Collum at 756 Productions before being mastered by Arthur Rizk (Cavalera Conspiracy, Jungle Rot, Road Mutant)…

A classic piece of weathered Hardcore Punk, soaked in tradition and stained in blood, sweat and tears “Everything Ends” offers up an ear worm riff to balance out the introspection of the lyrics about dark times, going hell for leather after a perfectly executed false ending. LaFata gives us something more intricate from behind the kit on the bombastic “Viet Cong“, its stop start motions creating a little bit of nausea as the band prove they can do rapid fire tempo changes and swirling dark moods with ease. A Motorhead influenced riff provides something fresh with “Tactful Choices” as the band expand their horizons taking a step to the left of their usual Hardcore Punk sound into something with a more Metallic edge without losing their core. An unexpected solo is a perverse pleasure from a band who would usually be all about the two step while vocalist Merkle pulls absolutely no punches lyrically. As if acknowledging that they went a little to far, The Great Lie dive headlong into “Look Into The Sky” with pure Punk Rock fury, both cuts being thinly veiled assaults on societal norms, while a bass drive from Martin as things come the boil is utterly timeless. From the socially and politically aware to the personal “Southern Drawl” is one of those cuts that has a name associated with it, Merkle pointing the fickle finger of fate at someone who has crossed him. That gives this one more edge, bark and bite while the band provide a sonic backdrop that has a surprising amount of Southern Groove to it. An anthem for those with the weight of the world is on the shoulders as “All This Weight” offers some catharsis with a lung busting chorus, continuing the fresh dynamic with a little more experimentation to create another stone cold winner. The Great Lie are evolving, removing some of the genre shackles… [7/10]

Track Listing

1. Everything Ends
2. Viet Cong
3. Tactful Choices
4. Look Into The Sky
5. Southern Drawl
6. All This Weight

“Vertigo” by The Great Lie is out 10th July 2023 and is available over at bandcamp. Vinyl will be available soon via Lemmis Records here.