It’s no big secret that some Steel Pulse fans became disillusioned by the increasingly crossover pop direction the band took in the late ‘80s and throughout the ‘90s, culminating in the “return to roots” that wasn’t, 1997’s Rage and Fury. Seven years have passed without a studio album, and some might’ve been wondering if the band was down for the count. Well, they pull themselves off the mat and come out swinging.

African Holocaust is the real return to roots that Rage and Fury purported to be. Sure, there are still some flourishes that seem to aim at a wider audience – the dancehall beats of “Blazing Fire” and the title track, and the rock guitar garnish on “Door of No Return” – but overall, African Holocaust regains Steel Pulse’s anti-establishment bite in large part by presenting tunes that are well-written and reggae-focused so that listeners actually listen to the lyrics instead of hitting fast forward. Now, I don’t want to imply that this is hardcore roots; there is certainly a slick veneer peppered by bubbly harmonies, but Steel Pulse fans should be used to that by now. A song like “Ku Klux Klan,” for instance, featured a bouncy sound yet had a deadly serious message. Of course, nothing on this album is as great as ”Ku Klux Klan,” but “Global Warning” is a funky, spunky jam, and “Door of No Return” is a magnetic ode to resilience, with ample support from tunes like “Tyrant,” “Born fi Rebel,” “There Must Be a Way,” “No More Weapons,” and the title cut. A couple of remakes are included – Curtis Mayfield’s “Darker Than Blue” and Bob Dylan’s “George Jackson” – but neither are as evocative as the originals penned by David Hines, who has taken even more of a leadership role in the group since all of the original members have left, except for Selwyn Brown. While not an outright classic, African Holocaust is definitely head and shoulders above anything I’ve heard from Steel Pulse in over a decade.






 by Quatty, ReggaeTrain.com
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