Fore - Skin (yes, you read that right)

On June 23^rd, 2023 Florida extreme punk band FORE unleashed their sophomore album “Skin” upon the world (and if you missed the play on words here, you don’t deserve to listen to this record). Their debut album smacked the world in 2020, and we have been collectively holding our breath ever since, in anticipation of what was to come next.

The band has undergone some changes over the last few years, and is now a 3 piece, featuring Brian Stephson (Unbilicus) on vocals & bass, Jeramie Kling (Inhuman Condition, Venom Inc) on drums, and Taylor Nordberg (Inhuman Condition, Deicide) on guitar. 

This is no Green-Day pop/punk appeal to airplay and Spotify playlists.  It’s a punk record in every meaning of the word.  From the frenetic pace of each track to the face-smacking riffs to the harmonious melodies, the sound is a beat-you-up metal/punk that’s extremely entertaining and aggressive.  There’s not a song on the record over 3 minutes in length, and the entire 14 track compilation comes in just shy of a half hour in overall length.

The record gives us a quick indoctrination into the sarcasm and cynicism we can expect with a spoken word intro that mocks the “no talking during movie” message in theaters and quickly moves into a societal statement before kicking into the onslaught of the first single released from the album, “Wild Out.”  This is a high-speed sing-along, and was a great first bite of what we could expect of the entire release.

The ass-kicking continues track after track. The fifth song on the record is also the most recent single, “Welcome To My Ted Talk,” which is a speed-metal/punk blend in all the best ways. The band tackles a number of social issues and the anything-for-profit culture we live in today in an angry and aggressive mosh-pit-inducing 2 minute 27 second song.

Between these two single releases the band also dropped “Nothing Means Nothing.” This one is a tribute to pro-wrestler Randy Savage and draws many of the lyrics from the Macho Man rants leading up to his fights. This is a great track!

I think Full Hard Swing might be my favorite on the whole album.  It features both tenderness and anger with beautiful harmonies and a riffing that could cause WWIII. I just love listening to this track as loud as my neighbors can handle.

With that said that’s actually how I like listening to the entire record!  As I mentioned earlier, this record is fast & loud – a bully to your ears. If you need a new work-out mix, this record is it! It’ll keep your blood pumping and your adrenaline glands working overtime for a solid half-hour work out. If your neighborhood noise ordinances will allow it pull out the huge old-school speakers and play it loud! If not, put in your AirPods and crank it up! Either way, you’re going to be grateful for the punk metal beating you’re about to endure. You’re welcome.