The Pist – Is Risen

Artist: The Pist

Title: Is Risen

Release: LP / Digital

Year: 2024

Label: Ryvvolte Records, Havoc Records, Profane Existence, Dismantled Records

The Pist formed in Connecticut around 1993 and quickly became a major voice in the US punk underground. Their 1995 LP, Ideas Are Bulletproof, remains an East Coast classic that brought some of the most authentic political hardcore and bare-bones, street-wise punk rock around. At the time, punk was being swallowed by commercialism—Vans Warped Tour, Epitaph Records, and a wave of pop punk taking over the scene—but The Pist stood as a critical counterpoint, proving that the spirit of DIY and resistance was still alive and genuinely pissed.

The Pist broke up around 1996, and while their time was short, they earned legendary status in certain punk circles. When they released their new album in 2024, I wasn’t ready to write about it. I mean, The Pist were one of those bands I first discovered through interviews and reviews in photocopied zines, and it feels surreal to be covering a new album of theirs decades later. It’s worth the wait, because The Pist have returned with a record that not only lives up to their legacy but feels even more urgent given today’s political climate. While a lot of older punk bands put out dad rock reunion records and cash-grabbing reissues, this one still feels authentic and recharged as fuck.

Musically, Is Risen sticks to The Pist’s original formula—short, unpolished, no-bullshit punk for the downtrodden. Even the tracklist mirrors Ideas Are Bulletproof, packing 19 songs into about 35 minutes as they did in 1995. The streetpunk vibe is still there, driven by Bill Chamberlain’s guitar ripping through the mix. Bill’s resume (Aus-Rotten, Behind Enemy Lines, Mankind?, Caustic Christ, and more) speaks for itself—while Al Pist’s barked vocals hit with genuine rage, undiluted by time. The band is actually almost in its original formation, I think only the bass player is different. If you’re familiar with The Pist, you’ll also notice the striking similarities between the opening tracks “Still Pist” from 1995 and “P.I.S.T.” in 2024. But this time around, there’s also a certain amount of looseness, a willingness to push beyond expectations.

Songs like “Jim Martin” are a good example, layering a barroom piano bounce over a classic Pist-style punk rager, an interesting touch that keeps Is Risen from feeling like a simple rehash of their ’90s work. “Narcissist” tears through a hardcore sprint before slowing into a mosh-friendly breakdown, while “Cross the Line” rips and roars with a powerful anti-cop message. “Cognitive Dissonance” and “One Plus One” tear into media manipulation, fake news and mass deception, while “The Ladder” and “Corporate Takeover” expose the soul-sucking drudgery of working-class survival under neoliberal capitalism.

But not every track is explicitly political, and remember, The Pist are essentially a streetpunk/Oi! band. Tracks like “Perfect” and “Pressure” dig into personal struggles, tackling self-worth and the daily stress of just trying to get by. “Let It All Go” reminds us how going to punk shows is a liberating experience, and then there’s the closer, “Best Friends,” which shifts gears completely with a sentimental outtake about losing a beloved pet. The production of the whole record is refreshingly “archaic”, free from the sterility of so many reunion blobs.

Plenty of veteran bands reunite and put out half-assed records, detached from the passion and politics that made them vital in the first place—more concerned with their new side hustles and barbershops than actual punk rock. Is Risen does the opposite. The Pist seem as committed to their message as they were nearly 30 years ago. Instead of phoning it in, they hit even harder—with the same politics, energy, and no-bullshit attitude that made them great in the first place. And that’s exactly what punk rock needs.