go listen to despacito and shut the fuck up brown man
Best RAC and NS Metal bands of all time.
Skinhead subculture started in Jamaica and the British West Indies with sugarcane harvesters and dock workers forming a youth movement around Reggae music originally called the Rude Boys. The music gained traction and slowly became identified with Trojan Records. The subculture was imported with immigrants from there to the UK in the '60s, reaching a fever pitch in what many nostalgic skinheads call the Spirit of '69. The Rude Boys, combined with the emerging working class Hard Mod culture, forged the classic skinhead. Although predominantly white, the original skinheads were racially integrated with more than a fair showing of Blacks in the group.
Then came Punk Rock. While many White skinheads enjoyed Punk, the scene was too closely associated with the middle and upper classes, so a new sound would emerge by working class Punks for working class Punks. Initially known as "Street Punk", that style of Skinhead Punk Rock would later be christened as "Oi!" thanks to a little magazine called The Sounds, edited by Garry Bushell. Mr. Bushell played an instrumental role marketing Punk Rock to skinheads through his magazine The Sounds almost equal in significance as Malcolm McLaren had with marketing The Sex Pistols to the globe. With bands like Angelic Upstarts and Sham 69 attracting throngs of dedicated fans, White skinheads started identifying with Punk subculture in greater numbers, gradually displacing Soul, Ska and Reggae.
For those more dedicated to the roots of skinhead subculture (ie: the Spirit of 69), Soul, Ska and Reggae would soon be blended with Punk Rock to form a style called 2 Tone Ska. Bands like Madness and The Specials would bring back the spirit of yore with the sound of new.
As this was all happening, Indians and laplanderstanis became a much stronger presence in UK. Contrary to the anti-racist narrative pitched by the image attached, xenophobia was prevalent among even black skinheads. Violence against South Asians, known as laplander bashing, became common. Add some Punk Rock nihilism with the decimation of the working class under Neoconservatism's growing influence in two of the major Anglo powers and you've got the perfect storm.
The watershed moment was an incident at a concert for The 4-Skins, The Business and The Last Resort (all unaffiliated with right-wing politics) in Southall during July of 1981. Two years earlier, police had killed Anti-Nazi League activist Blair Peach in a riot instigated by the demonstrators. Racial tensions were running at a fever pitch. Accounts conflict as to what happened (ie: who instigated it). The bands conceded the skinheads and South Asians weren't getting along, but maintain the the response was greatly out of proportion with the trouble the skinheads were causing them. On the other side, the South Asian locals claimed some of the skinhead concert goers assaulted women and elderly people, engaged in property destruction / vandalism / graffiti and daubed National Front logos and slogans on shop windows. In either case, the locals protested the gig on (wrongful) suspicion the bands were far-right and subsequently rioted, burning down the venue in the process. Following that incident, The 4-Skins recorded a song "One Law for Them". From this point forward, Nationalist parties in Britain had an ample opportunity to weaponize these disenfranchised youths for their cause. And Rock Against Communism was born.
Before Skrewdriver rose prominence, bands like Ovaltinees, Peter & the Wolf and Die Hards already gained traction as vehicles for the National Front's message. One year later, Ovaltinees would release what can be considered RAC's first publicly released recording, an EP called "British Justice." The "British Justice" EP predates all political releases by Skrewdriver, making it the first RAC record of all time. It must be the only thing ever that’s dedicated to both Adolf Hitler and Splodgenessabounds (alongside ‘all groupies’ and ‘Nigger & Chris’).
There was also the band Final Offensive, who purportedly had a song calling for Aryan Unity one year before the reformed Skrewdriver's "White Power" dropped.
Here's a fascinating article about the Tilbury Trojan Skinheads, a group known for their affiliation with the band Angela Rippon's Bum as well as the staunchly xenophobic Anti-Paki League. Believe it or not, the Anti-Paki League had no formal ties to the National Front or British Movement. It was entirely grassroots xenophobia. Anyone who can tell me the original skinheads were anti-racist is lying. They may not have been Nazis, but they far from racially tolerant, especially to Indians/Pakistanis:
http://archive.li/rprzN
RAC bands oppose Communism not only for economic reasons, but also for the humanism and liberal aspects of socialism. The irrelevance of race and/or nation in socialism is the salient point RAC opposes in all their anti-left rhetoric. Consequently, most bands are explicitly White Nationalist and/or National Socialist. Early on, RAC was strictly about British Nationalism. A fair number of mid '80s RAC bands weren't necessarily Nazi and some never were in the course of their careers. As time went on, bands became much more openly Nazi, especially with Skrewdriver's later albums becoming more obvious in their references to the Third Reich and Norse Neopaganism.
Why RAC? Think about it. Abstract economic theories don't inspire too many people to write academic compositions, much less make music. In fact, has an economic theory inspired anyone to make music of any sort? There's no such thing as Rock Against Central Planning or Rock Against Labor Theory of Value. Anyone who tried to make such music would look weird, but that puts these artists in a bind. Given that Nationalist skinheads are opposed to the total social vision of Communism rather than mere elements within it, they naturally grasp at something to replace it. That replacement usually comes in the form of blunt expressions of White Nationalism: three chords and the truth.
Frequently, artists who produce art for the intention of pushing a certain idea or belief renders the end product little more than a propaganda vehicle, but making musical propaganda requires a good sense of creativity, understanding of human psychology and personal convictions to create music that resonates with people politically. Most don't succeed, but it's the effort that counts for me
Jugra? Certainly.
The eyebrow-raising Darah dan Maruah Tanah Melayu (Blood and Honour of the Malay Land) movement has grown throughout the 2010s from a handful of artists into over a dozen active projects. At the center is Daeng Andika, a 20 year veteran of the Malay Metal scene recording and releasing music as early as 2003. It would be in 2009 that he would take an active interest in producing National Socialist music from the Malay perspective.
The most active project of Mr. Andika would be Jugra, releasing nearly a decade's worth of material, sharing spaces with artists from his native Malaysia and the Philippines to the United States and Italy. Named after the historic royal capital of Sultan Abdul Samad in present day Selangor, Jugra's music ranges everywhere from Oi!/RAC to Black Metal and even Folk music. The band calls their music "Patriotik Metal":
In an interview with Marco Ferrarese for New Naratif, Daeng explains his belief that Nationalism and Metal music mix well, stating that it is fundamental to those who believe that National Socialism represents the idea that nations belong to their respectively distinct races with one leader in charge of their people. For Daeng, Jugra is a tribute to the Third Reich.
https://newnaratif.com/the-roots-of-the-hate/
Alif Ba Ta features everything from Oi!/Punk to Heavy Metal and NSBM.
Highlights: "Nusantara Raya" (3:55), "Wanita" (13:49), "This Is Our Land" (17:14), "Pelayar Dari Hujung Selatan Timur" (22:36)
Other Jugra albums: