Shihad - Old Gods (LP) - Translucent Red Vinyl

Shihad’s Old Gods lands like a clenched fist and a clear head, a late-career surge from a band that has never learned how to coast. Released in September 2021, it arrived into a world already humming with anger and fatigue, and it channels that mood with purpose. Jon Toogood sings like someone who has watched the outrage machine chew through friends, history and common sense, and decided to pick up a guitar and argue back. The classic Shihad line-up is present and ferocious: Toogood on vocals and guitar, Phil Knight on guitar and synths, Karl Kippenberger on bass, and Tom Larkin on drums. You can hear decades of chemistry in how tightly they lock in. It’s heavy, but not just loud for the sake of it. It’s heavy because the world is.

The first time I spun Old Gods on vinyl, I got that old thrill you only get from bands who know how to write riffs that stick. The guitars don’t just chug, they slice, with Knight adding clever textures around Toogood’s rhythms so the songs feel huge without drowning in fuzz. Kippenberger is the not-so-secret weapon, pushing melodies from below, while Larkin keeps it lean and hostile. If you’ve followed Shihad since the Wellington days, you’ll hear threads that reach back to Churn and FVEY, that stern, post-industrial edge that nods to Killing Joke, but here it’s cleaner and more focused. They aren’t interested in murk. They want you to hear every barb.

Singles like Tear Down Those Names and Little Demons set the tone. The former takes aim at false idols and the stories we tell to keep power comfortable, the latter goes for the rot that creeps in when fear gets monetised. Toogood has talked in interviews about the uglier tides of the last few years, from disinformation to everyday bigotry, and you can feel that personal stake in his delivery. He’s not sermonising. He’s pleading for a reset, while still leaving space for the band to go full throttle. When the chorus hits, it hits like a packed room at the Powerstation, sweat on the ceiling and no one checking their phone.

Old Gods debuted at number one on the Official New Zealand Music Charts, which makes sense the moment you hear it. It’s a proper album in the old sense, sequenced with intent, built to reward a full sit-down listen. The pacing is smart, with mid-tempo bruisers balancing the faster cuts, and lyrics that keep circling the same questions from different angles. There’s rage, but also clarity. It’s easy to write a rant. It’s harder to write one that sticks in your head for weeks, then reveals another layer on the third or fourth spin.

Production-wise, the record feels taut and unfussy. The drums have snap, the bass has that rubbery growl you want from Shihad, and the guitars carry bite without turning brittle. On a decent setup, the Old Gods vinyl pressing brings all that low-end heft forward, which makes the choruses feel even more cathartic. If you’re the kind who still lines up at a Melbourne record store on a Saturday, or trawls late-night to buy Shihad records online, this one’s a no-brainer. It sits nicely next to FVEY, and if you’re curating Shihad albums on vinyl, it’s the chapter that proves the fire never went out.

What makes Old Gods stick, though, is the band’s sense of scale. They’re writing about big things, yet they keep the focus human. Toogood’s voice cracks at the right moments, the rhythm section leaves air where you expect clutter, and the guitars find hooks in the tension. It’s the sound of a group that knows its strengths and trusts its instincts. You can picture these songs roaring across festival fields, but they also reward a pair of headphones on a late tram through Brunswick, city lights flicking past while the band digs in.

Shihad have always been a live proposition, and these tracks feel purpose-built for that world. Still, Old Gods stands tall on record, sharp and replayable, the kind of album that reminds you why you fell for rock music in the first place. If you’ve got a soft spot for punchy, politically awake rock that still cares about songs, you’ll want this in the stack. Call your local, check the bins for Shihad vinyl, or, if you’re browsing for vinyl records Australia wide, keep an eye out for Old Gods vinyl. It’s a keeper, loud and clear.