The Living End – MODERN ARTillery

Author: Lauren McMenemy

The Living End
MODERN ARTillery (EMI)

After singer/guitarist Chris Cheney faced death and won in a car accident, and then founding member Travis Demsey quit just as they were getting back on track, things could have gone pear-shaped for the Living End.

And while, thankfully, things didn’t – with new drummer Andy Strachan moving seamlessly into the fold – that thought seems to dominate much of their third album.

“Will we be remembered?” Cheney asks in Maitland St, while on the epic closer The Room it’s “I wonder if the world is just the same”.

Then there is the one that gets right to the heart of the Living End: “Rising up from the ashes/you know we never meant to burn…”

If their self titled debut was the raw introduction and Roll On its slick, polished sister, MODERN ARTillery is the definitive Living End album. The perfect meld of what has come before, it also has diversity which was needed if the trio was to prove itself still relevant.

There are more melodies among the punkabilly anthems – even a hint of country-influenced steel guitar.

MODERN ARTillery is an impressive outlook from one of the tightest, most inspiring outfits in the country. This is The Living End’s finest hour.