Riffs and rabbit holes - Personal Punk review ‘The Great Resist’ by Assert

Angry, powerful and fizzing with energy.

ASSERT are a UK hardcore punk band from Telford, Wolverhampton. Formed in 1994, they were most active during the late 90s and 00s, this album being their first release since 2008’s Laser Tattoo Removal Service. I remember ASSERT from their reviews and interviews in various fanzines of the time; gym-bothering, tattooed singer Britt had a confrontational air and refreshingly left wing views. Though I only ever heard the odd track on compilations, they clearly dwelt in the metallic/UKHC arena.

Musically then, The Great Resist isn’t too much of a surprise and it’s a pretty mixed bag. Prison Drug Song opens well as a rollicking riot of old school crossover, gnarly punk vocals occasionally slipping into the more expected guttural register. The Great Resist is a fairly generic slice of fast, metallic punk with SLAYER riffs, before the band head in a more interesting direction with Gotta Do It‘s punky anthemics. Dipping a little with the simple metallics of Dangerous Intellect and the chugging Foe Or Friend, the latter brandishing a stark guitar line in the break, the quality ups substantially on the old school, speedy punk of Stand For Nothing; less metal, more punk, catchy chorus – what more do you need? They slip in melody on Life I Need, as well as some neat riffs and a sped-up bridge, dip again on the mid-paced repetition of Don’t Shoot Me, before finding their vibe for New World Order‘s mix of speeds, compelling riffs and cool guitar lines. The last four tracks finish on a high; album highlight, the fast, frenetic Just A Story, shades of spine-tingling PENI on Fear’s A Friend, the dark, relentless On A Rope and twelve seconds of stop-start hardcore (Nar-co-lepsy). Honestly, I could have swallowed a whole album of these.

Lyrically? Well, it’s no exaggeration to say that punk’s inherently anti-establishment questioning of governments of all stripes (“fuck the system!“) has been complicated by social media’s super-charging of disinformation and misinformation. We now live in a world of ‘alternative facts’ and ‘fake news’ – a post-truth reality. Traditionally, punk’s role was not, generally speaking, to offer nuanced debate; more interested in shining a light on the injustices it took on – a valid part of any protest movement – it now finds itself forced by social media into ever-more entrenched, rigid strictures. In that spirit, some of these lyrics represent a peculiarly online worldview; rabbit holes of conspiracy, belief in a one-world government in cahoots with ‘big pharma’ and its plans to control the population, a planned pandemic. Of course, some of these ideas have a basis in reality – conspiracy theories, innit? – but as someone who mostly believes the truth is more prosaic, of cock-up rather than conspiracy, I’m left with the feeling that, lyrically, this album represents punks’ online-fuelled auto-cannibalism. The title song refers to the ‘The Great Reset’, a term originating as a set of proposals by the World Economic Forum, interpreted by online conspiracy theorists on the right and left – though mostly the former – as a plot by the rich and powerful elites to funnel us into a socialist future where “we won’t own anything and be happy” (The Great Resist), namechecking the WEF along the way, of course. The anti-government paranoia of Dangerous Intellect, while following in the grand tradition of DEAD KENNEDYS, seems a little hysterical, yes, even in a world where the Epstein scandal is real. Foe Or Friend‘s macho chest-beating is cliched to the point of satire (“When a man makes a moral stand, clenched teeth, gun in his hand, drew a line right in the sand. Try to understand…“). Stand For Nothing is back to the social media coal-face, with references to Big Pharma, BBC and MSM, and I couldn’t quite work out what was up with Don’t Shoot Me (“there are reds underneath my bed, working for the feds“). New World Order gets stuck into the insults with its view of the pandemic – “no roots, no home, you’re a mask wearing drone“, detailing their belief in what they see as the real truth: “lied about vaccines, you’ll die, freedoms have gone, they’re in room 101. Above and below, Agenda 2030“. They dial down the hysteria with some great posi-punk lyrics about taking control of your life, making things happen and all-round good vibes (Gotta Do It, The Life I Need, Fear’s A Friend). My favourite, Life’s A Story, details the band’s journey and influences, referencing THE RUTS, BLITZ and DISCHARGE, as well as themselves and, just in case you think they’ve gone soft, rather than being the hoped-for ROCKET FROM THE CRYPT cover, On A Rope imagines their enemies’ “swinging from a fucking rope” on a lamp post. Calm down, lads.

All that being said, listening to a band sounding so foul-mouthed, feral and seriously not giving a fuck, made a refreshing change from the spit ‘n polish of so much 9-5 office-core that currently passes for punk. While there might be a little too much metallic chest-beating for my tastes, when it hits the heights, it’s angry, powerful and fizzing with energy.

https://personalpunk.wordpress.com/2026/08/02/assert-the-great-resist-album-engineer-records/