While hardcore is a genre I usually don’t write about, a track like ‘Backburner’ from Brisbane band Wildheart shines with such a passion. Termed ‘melodic hardcore’ to be precise, which is a much more accessible genre, I presume, than non-melodic hardcore – what makes ‘Backburner’ so special is the deep heartfelt messages and the pure unadulterated sense of anger and frustration about the myriad of problems that face Australian society and particularly the First Nations people. The instrumentation mirrors this anger, with guitars that chug and thunder, leavened by soaring choruses and excoriating lyrics. This is a very cathartic and powerful track.
First Nations (Yugambeh) man and vocalist for Wildheart, Axel Best, says that the song:
…was written after Australia bore witness to the worst bushfires we have ever seen. Backburner is about the government’s continuous refusal to listen, learn and adopt indigenous techniques that were used for thousands of years to preserve and care for the land.
Beyond that, there are messages about corporate greed and climate change. The accompanying video (recorded by Gareth Hargreaves Recordings and filmed and edited by Daniel Ramsey of SP/LIT Media) is brutal and powerful and thoroughly satisfying:
‘Backburner’ is available now and can be streamed/downloaded here.
