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Album Review: Debunk’s ‘Depression, Disorder & Paranoia’

By Alex Curle
Debunk Band

Italian punks Debunk are back with an explosive second album- and they’ve got all the ills of society in their sights…..

Made up from members Raw Power and Los Fastidos, they reflect back on an album with a compelling theme at the heart of it all:

“In this album we talk about a society full of vices like the one we live in, plagued by consumerism, alcohol and drugs. The lifestyle that comes with these habits can easily lead us into the vortex of depression and paranoia. A world that runs faster than time, where if you stumble you are left behind and the only way you can catch up is to make compromises. These in turn can distort who you are, with the risk of falling, without the strength to get up, into a psychological disorder from which it is impossible to return.”

Debunk are never one to shy away from evocative topics that are difficult to write about. They’re punk after all. During the quarantine of 2020, the band harking from Northern Italy found themselves writing their second full-length album. Released on the same label, came ‘Depression, Disorder & Paranoia’ a cathartic explosion of fast-tempo and guitar shredding, unwavered with any thought as it’s released from the very depths of anguish in an equally deprived society. 

A punk album to its core, the 14-track playthrough – which barely accounts for half hour of music – is a relentless drive of head-banging works, loaded with gravelly vocals, high-octave guitar screeches and hard-hitting drums that pack a punch through any speaker, its DIY punk at its best. 

With only one song passing the three-minute mark (their more fleshed-out self-titled ‘Depression & Disorder’), it is an avid craving of explosive, raw energy we all need right now. Pre-single release, ‘Grit My Teeth’, is a fearsome stand-out from the 14-track album, as it plays out as a way of coping the only way we know how. Forcing our way through it with clenched teeth. It is a true testament of their album theme, as tracks ‘Depression & Disorder’ and ‘Shout For Help’ either side blare alarm bells to us all. 

While the likes of ‘Parasite’ and ‘Goodbye’ have the most depth, as a change of tempo and feel is met with open arms, both neighbouring songs ‘Sick World / Real World’ paint vivid imagery of dutiful acceptance and diligence within a “plagued society” which is, quite literally, sick with ‘Parasites’. 

A punk album to its core, the 14-track playthrough – which barely accounts for half hour of music – is a relentless drive of head-banging works, loaded with gravelly vocals, high-octave guitar screeches and hard-hitting drums that pack a punch through any speaker, its DIY punk at its best. 

A punk band can’t be just good in the studio, however. The real mark-up for punks is their live game. Raucous in every sense of the word, they deliver more so live than they can ever do in recording. Through their time of releasing their debut “Doped Life” in 2019 – that is contrasting themes to their second, might I add – they’ve shared the live punk scene across Europe with the likes of The Casualties, Lagwagon, and GBH.

Stream the album here: Spotify – Depression, Disorder & Paranoia

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