There is always a danger with records like this that they end up feeling like history lessons. Important, maybe. Worthy, certainly. But not exactly alive.
“Sanctus Propaganda Sessions Vol. 5” has no such problem.
Recorded live in the studio at Dobra 12 in Bialystok, Poland in August last year, this 10-track set pulls from “Nobody Listens Anymore”, “Phoenix”, “Shockgun” and the EPs, and if that sounds like a look back over the catalogue, fair enough. But what it actually sounds like is a band rediscovering exactly why these songs mattered in the first place. More than that, it sounds like founder member Simon Mooney has kept the flame alive long enough for Instigators to come roaring back with real purpose.
And why they still do.
Because from the second “Tricked And Abused” starts, this thing comes at you with proper intent. There’s nastiness in it, absolutely, but that’s only half the story. What really makes it work is the melody, and the fact that underneath all the snarl there is a total commitment to the song itself. That matters. Anyone can make a racket. Not everyone can make one that sticks.
“The Blood Is On Your Hands / You’re Not Free” underlines the point. For a band so rooted in punk, there is something really intricate about the way they fit together here. It doesn’t just charge forward, it moves with purpose. Andy Turner sounds magnificent throughout the set, but especially here, delivering every line like a challenge rather than a performance.
“Full Circle” is one of those songs that feels even bigger in this setting. The chorus is all slogan and defiance, and if punk rock is supposed to make you want to punch the air and maybe change the world on the way home, then this absolutely does the job. It helps, too, that the title suddenly feels loaded. This band really have come full circle, and they sound all the better for it.
There’s no drop in standards, either. “Cry Freedom” is as subtle as a brick through a window and all the better for it, while “Blind Eye” feels built for bodies colliding in front of a stage somewhere. “Computer Age” is fascinating now, too. Forty years on, the world has become stranger than anyone could have guessed, but the song still chugs away with real class. It sounds urgent rather than dated, which is no small thing.
And then there’s “The Sleeper”, which reminds you that Instigators were never just about speed and noise. A lot of these songs push beyond the usual punk template, and this one especially stretches out into something with real weight, almost brushing up against metal in places. “Summer” has that same sense of shape to it, the bass giving it a proper anchor, and by the time “Hedonism” closes things out, all chug and purpose, you’re left with a simple thought: old punks never die, they just change line-up and find a fresh reason to mean it all over again.
That’s what gives this record its edge. It isn’t trading on old glories. It isn’t some polite reunion souvenir. This sounds like a band with unfinished business, and the fact that it is also a benefit release supporting human rights only adds to the feeling that this is about something bigger than merely revisiting the past.
If you were there first time round, this will likely remind you why you cared. If you weren’t, then here’s your chance to find out what the fuss was about.
This is full circle, yes.
But it also sounds like Instigators still have plenty left to say.
RATING 8/10
