Ultimo Asalto - Solos contra todos

Wouter at Rebellion records was so kind to give me this cd and told me how great this Spanish band is. I’m not that enthusiastic when it comes to oi! bands… and this one has Spanish lyrics. Guess all my trips to Benidorm will come in handy this time. Also for some strange reason the artwork made me think of Moonspell’s ‘Wolfheart’…damn! ‘Solos contra todos’ is Ultimo Asalto’s first full-length for Rebellion and I gotta say it surprised me. The sound made me think of Banner of Thugs’ last album…especially the unusual guitarwork…more technical than your average thirteen in a dozen oi! band. Only thing is…I’m not into that vocalist… damn man! The rest of the band is tight, but I got the feeling this band would be so much better with a ‘real’ singer instead of the ‘same old, gets boring’ throat of ‘Orko‘. Songs like ‘Justicia’ and ‘Sin ti’ deserve a lot better and would lift Ultimo Asalto to the top of the European streetpunk/oi scene. I’m sure Spain isn’t really crowded with skinhead bands, so in their own country they’ll only gain more popularity, but the competition for the rest of Europe is bigger and I don’t know if they’ll manage. Hey this is a personal opinion, by all means if you’re into old-school oi with an original sound don’t let me hold you back to buy this one! There’s enough for you on this album with ‘Barcelona’, ‘Uno para todos’ and ‘Forever’ among others. Mixed feelings. Original, but then again, not…