I’m not sure what their name means but perhaps it is an acronym. I’m not even going to try and guess what it means.

Take note though, that Astpai = Awesome. These guys from Austria are certainly doing it right. With similarities to Kid Dynamite and Ashes Rise, they take the tightly-wound melodies of punk rock and the anxiousness of hardcore and use them to their advantage.

The disc is very, very quick. At 30 minutes, it just blazes by in a fury of restrained aggression and does not let up from start to finish. Astpai are political in nature, performing lyrics that push for an awareness of your surroundings and to simply be intelligent. There is nothing more easily hated then a blind-sheep and all Astpai are looking for is for their listeners to questions their surroundings.

If you like any of the above mentioned bands and are looking for something fresh to bang your head to – stop at Astpai and enjoy how the Austrians get down; with fists pumping.