Kickback holds a place apart in the history of French and European hardcore. A sulfurous, often controversial band, it built its myth on a sonic and thematic violence pushed to the extreme. Forever War, released in 1998, remains one of its most emblematic records. It is a dark, nihilistic work that refuses the slightest glimmer of hope and turns hardcore into an owned descent into hell. Formed in the early 1990s, the band quickly gained a reputation as impressive as it was disturbing, both for its music and its attitude. That sulfurous aura fed a genuine myth around the outfit, of which this record remains one of the most striking testimonies.
A darkness with no way out
Musically, Forever War unfolds a heavy, martial hardcore, fed by metallic influences and an almost industrial coldness of intent. The riffs are cut from concrete, the rhythm strikes like relentless machinery. But it is above all the atmosphere that stays with you: a permanent tension, an aggression that never loosens its grip. The record advances like an armored column, never deviating from its path. The vocals, screamed and hateful, carry a deliberately provocative, misanthropic message that fueled as much fascination as rejection around the band. Kickback does not try to please or reassure: it expresses a raw, desperate rage that finds in hardcore the only language capable of containing it.
A cult and divisive object
Forever War left a lasting mark on the European scene, influencing many heavier and more extreme bands that came after it. Its cult status rests on that total radicalism, on that refusal of any compromise. The record divides, like the band itself, but no one can deny the impact it had on the history of hardcore on the continent.
The force of an extreme conviction
What still strikes you today is the absolute coherence of the statement. Nothing softens the message, nothing tries to charm. That purity in intransigence gives the record a rare, almost hypnotic force. You may be repelled by its darkness, but you cannot remain indifferent to its power. It must be admitted, however, that this radicalism can also be a limit. The total absence of nuance, the repetition of the aggression, end up creating a form of monotony for anyone who does not buy into the band’s world. Forever War is a demanding record, one that asks you to plunge entirely into its darkness.
In the end, Forever War remains a cornerstone of European hardcore, a record as disturbing as it is fascinating. It embodies an extreme, uncompromising vision of the genre, driven by total conviction. A dark classic, reserved for souls ready to face it. Few records push the sense of unease this far while still commanding respect through their coherence, and it is precisely that paradox which continues to fascinate long after the noise dies down.
