The Angry Mob

Way back in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when I was a full-time employee of Xandir Malta (the precursor to PBS), Radio Malta had a (relatively speaking) very liberal manager at the helm. He gave me and other like-minded reprobates enough rope to hang ourselves...and then some. That rope was used to, among many other things, create a weekly rock show called Grinta. Years after all the rats (myself included) jumped ship or were thrown overboard Grinta rocked on, thanks to the dedication of Brian Micallef who inherited it from Alfie Fabri very early in its incredibly long lifespan.

Grinta has developed a cult following mostly because it is one of the very few radio shows in Malta that play hardcore and other very heavy genres of rock and metal. It is especially laudable that Brian Micallef has continued to support new and upcoming bands even when they outgrew what we can assume are his own personal tastes in rock music. But now Grinta is officially on hiatus for the summer months, apparently for the first time ever. From what I can understand, this is not because Brian needs a break but because the short-sighted bottom-feeders who have taken over Radio Malta believe that there's no place for longevity in national broadcasting and/or anything that's not mainstream does not belong on the national airwaves.

Forsaken bassist and professional criminologist Albert Bell has now crafted an eloquently worded petition in the hope of restoring some vision within the blind management at Radio Malta. Stranger things are known to happen but if what happened to Reggae Club is any indication of the way things are in G'Mangia, history will teach us nothing.

In the same spirit that Roman emperors saluted those about to die in the gladiatorial displays at the Colosseum and other amphitheaters, this week's edition of my Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast is dedicated entirely to the heaviest genres of rock played in Malta. This is the sort of music that without Grinta will rarely (if ever) get any more airplay on national Maltese radio.

The 77th podcast in the Mużika Mod Ieħor series opens with The Rise of Thor from Demis' CD album Ethereal Travel, which was released last May. I played another track from this album months before it was release and I stand behind my original comments about this great Maltese rock guitarist.

Venues that promote the heaviest genres of rock are few and far between in Malta. Remedy in Paceville is one of the most ardent and dependable supporters. It is there that the debut CD album The Great Divide by Recoil is being launched this evening. Circus of Shame is the track I've chosen to play from it on my 77th MMI podcast. It is immediately followed by White Shotgun a track from last year's Ode to Silence, the successful CD album release from Slit. This band is about to embark on a European tour starting in Switzerland on September 17. The tour takes them to Belgium, France, Germany, Holland, and the Czech Republic, but you can still catch them in Malta on the 18th of August with Geneva-based metal band Cardiac, at Remedy. I'll probably play something by Cardiac on an upcoming edition of my podcast.

To close this week's Mużika Mod Ieħor I've selected a new recording from Subculture's 3rd CD album, which will be launched at Remedy on the last day of this month. The current Subculture line-up has Ray il-Baħri and and Woody Aki sharing vocals. This makes for a very gritty sound that hardcore punk fans will undoubtedly enjoy. Out There is the name of the song and Resist the Abuse is the title of the forthcoming album.

I have no idea what the future holds for Grinta at Radio Malta but I can promise you that my Mużika Mod Ieħor podcast will live on for as long as its listeners keep asking for it. Forget radio! From its demise we can enjoy new freedoms...at least while they last.

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