17 July 2024

Journey... Blood... 2011–2013


Blood Soaked Street of Total Decay Blood Soaked Street of Total Decay EP 2013

The Thai punk/grindcore band Blood Soaked Street of Social Decay released the album Journey... Blood... 2011–2013 on CD in 2013. Like their cassette EP 2013, the CD’s cover image shows victims of Thai military violence. The compilation includes the band’s entire back catalogue, from their first release เ​ด​โ​ม ๒​๕​๕​๔ (‘demo 2011’, with an under-construction Democracy Monument on its cover) to อีพี ๒๕๕๖ (‘EP 2013’, reissued as a tenth anniversary CD last year).

Most tracks are blistering criticisms of Thai state institutions, including the monkhood, the Constitutional Court, and the government. Gun in Hand Military Fucking Shoot People (หัวควยถือปืน), for example, was recorded in 2012 in response to the 2010 massacre in downtown Bangkok, and the song’s music video features news footage of the event. The band’s other music videos are rapid-fire slideshows of political imagery: กฏระยำ, released on 6th October 2011, has photographs of the 14th October 1973 and 6th October 1976 massacres; and ตายทั้งสภา, from 2013, has satirical memes of Yingluck Shinawatra and other politicians.

Members of the band were arrested in 2018 after they burnt posters of coup leader Prayut Chan-o-cha at the จะ4ปีแล้วนะ (‘4 years already’) concert. They also played at another anti-coup concert, BNK44, later that year.