Over the last fifteen years, Prague’s apocalyptic hardcore band Flowers for Whores have consistently chosen the difficult path. There have been small-run EPs and split 7”s, but good luck finding any of those records in the wild. There have been scrappy DIY tours across Eastern Europe and into Russia, but few ventures west of the Czech Republic. And with their members devoting their time to projects like Decultivate, SS Warhead, and Repellent SS, it’s no wonder that Flowers for Whores haven’t graced the world with new recordings since 2012. But with their first official full-length, False Flag World, the raging quartet show that their dormancy has only magnified their power.

From the opening track “Rez,” the band lays the template for their aural assaults. The song is a combination of primordial hardcore brutality and brawny metallic breakdowns—somewhere in the realm of Integrity’s doomsday anthems grappling with Bolt Thrower’s mechanized violence. The savagery continues on “Cern,” where Marián Leskovský’s dexterous drumming, Pavel Polák’s caustic guitar work, and Radek Pavlovič’s grinding bass create a bleak soundscape for Tomáš Mládek’s harrowing howls. Everything about Flowers for Whores sounds cataclysmic, whether it’s the driving chords of “Srpen,” the frenzied Hydra Headed assault of “Torza,” or the monolithic weight of “Finis Coronat Opus.” It’s no wonder the band describes the album as “the world comes to an end and this is its swansong.”

As is typical of the Czech hardcore scene, Flowers for Whores don’t operate under the assumption that there is some crossover potential for their music. There’s no glossy music mag or corporate sponsored festival knocking at their door. This is music made for their tight-knit community. It’s music made for the hungry and the angry—the kids that seek out some sort of assurance that, yes, the world is indeed fucked and cruel, and the only hope is to carve out some space outside of the blind, bloodthirsty Industrial Age machine that’s slowly crushing the human spirit. False Flag World is the war cry; the raised fist against dwindling odds.

Track Listing:
01. Rez
02. Cern
03. Izolace
04. Srpen
05. Torza
06. Krakatit
07. Finis Coronat Opus