Hero Dishonest – Flat Society

Hailing from Helsinki, Finland, the tireless Hero Dishonest are back, delivering yet another explosive album that maintains their notorious energy and hardcore punk frenzy since 1999, whilst continuing to release all their material on their guitarist Mikko Heikkonen’s DIY label, If Society. The commitment is real on this one!

It’s amusing that Hero Dishonest have been on stage for a quarter of a century, and I’ve been following them since the early 2000s, having had the pleasure of witnessing their mind-blowing live performances on several occasions, while albums like 2006’s When The Shit Hits The Man and 2013’s Alle Lujaa stand out among my favorite European hardcore records of their respective decades. Despite the passage of time and the visible signs of aging in recent photos and live videos, however, Hero Dishonest haven’t lost a step, but rather evolved sonically and lyrically.

Released in early 2024, Hero Dishonest’s latest offering, Flat Society, marks what I believe is their tenth album and serves as a testament to their enduring spirit and genuine love for fast hardcore beats and socially-conscious punk rock lyricism. A couple of years in the making, the album kicks off with “Sä” (You), a powerful declaration of mental and emotional quarantine in a world gone mad. With phenomenal hooks and choruses, this opener is an unrestrained venting session against the noise of daily life and global catastrophes. The band then doubles down on speed and intensity with “Flat Society A.D.,” which serves as a scathing critique of conservative values masquerading as tradition; the track takes societal pillars like religion and family to task for fostering bigotry and political populism, specifically homophobia. Kudos for making the point!

Up next, Hero Dishonest belt out two tracks, one in Finnish and one in English, that deal with the absurdity of consumerism and the environmental degradation it causes. With lines like “little chickens and the mush that dogs eat,” “Veronpalautus” (Tax Return) makes a point for a society cannibalizing its future for temporary comforts—highlighting the cyclical and self-destructive nature of modern consumption and capitalism. On “Earth Junk,” the band comments on humanity’s reckless disregard for the planet, comparing humans to space junk—out of control and dangerous.

“Painajainen jatkuu” (Nightmare Continues) is another no-holds-barred, mindless thrash racket that portrays the world as a place filled with empty promises and a refusal to heed scientific warnings. The relentless “nightmare” the band depicts is a world where war is negotiable but extinction is inevitable, emphasizing the urgent need for societal change. “Hyvä meissä” (The Good In Us) then balances with a more melodic approach and attempts to look at the intrinsic good in humanity, which the song suggests is often overshadowed by the chemistry of our worse natures. It explores the struggle to maintain one’s morality amidst the pervasive influences of control and apathy.

Picking up the pace again, “F.S. Death March” expands on the album’s title theme, this song metaphorically describes the world as flat—not in the literal sense of some brain-fried conspiracy crackpots, but in the superficiality and emptiness of contemporary life’s “bullshit facts.” The eight track “Emme voi mitään” (We Can’t Do Anything About It) is another classic Hero Dishonest song that sounds fresh yet oddly familiar, dealing with feelings of powerlessness and resignation. It’s a dark ode to fatalism, expressing a bleak view of life’s inevitable progress from birth to death, undisturbed by human intervention. The track is followed by the noise-rock/grunge-inspired “Past My Prime,” which injects some dark humor into its lyrical narrative about aging and the social invisibility it often brings. It speaks to the feeling of being outdated and disregarded in a fast-paced world.

Confronting the rise of far-right ideologies, “Bred With Hate” is among the fastest and thrashiest tracks on the album, calling out the resurgence of fascism and urging no-compromise in naming and combating it head-on. Having covered other early ’80s USHC classics on previous releases, it’s no surprise that Hero Dishonest continue their old-school hardcore slamfest with a wild rendition of Big Boys’ 1982-1984 song “Brick Wall,” which they blast in 34 seconds. The last two tracks on the album, both in Finnish, keep up with the fast tempo changes and thrashing riffs, while the lyrics mock the powerful and corrupt who treat their country like a personal bathroom, or suggesting that personal choices have little impact on the broader currents of life that flow inexorably and indifferently from the cradle to the grave.

In summary, after 25 years, Hero Dishonest are still serving up turbo-charged, frenetic and occasionally anthemic hardcore that they play from the heart while keeping their sound fresh and innovative. I remain a die-hard fan of the band and can’t find a weak spot in their entire discography. The introduction of English lyrics may be a bit of a surprise, as well as the album’s artwork and overall lyrics being a bit darker, maybe a bit more cynical and nihilistic compared to their earlier material, but it makes the record even more relevant with the times, I guess.

Furthermore, while everyone is praising Planet On A Chain’s Culture of Death as the AOTY, I personally find it a bit repetitive and overwhelming, whereas the old Finnish punks of Hero Dishonest stand out with 13 fast and stomping tracks without making any one sound like the other. Not American, not on Revelation Records. But it’s really good stuff.