Shihad – Old Gods

If anger is an energy, then Old Gods – Shihad’s 10th studio album since forming in Wellington in 1988 – could singlehandedly power our capital city for a year. Old Gods is a step into fury for frontman Jon Toogood whose lyrics encapsulate our collective anger at recent world events.

The album states its intent from the moment the crushing, grinding riff of opener ‘Tear Down Those Names’ explodes to life, and just one song later Toogood urges for the killing of the ‘old gods’ in the title track.

Elsewhere, Toogood takes aim at conservative talk radio, the legitimization of racism, and the radicalization of a generation fuelled by misinformation.