ALBUM REVIEW: SONGS IN THE KEY OF WRESTLING BY BIG NOTER
Reviewed by Cecilia Pattison-Levi
Release date: 18 September 2026
Rappers take on heavy metal and hardcore in their new album ‘Songs In The Key Of Wrestling’. Big Noter, fronted by Yorta Yorta icon Briggs, along with Steve Smith, Craig Strain and Leigh Davies bring the heavy, and groove-laden rock in this inimitable record.
The album opens with a wall of guitars and pounding rhythms as the message of “free yourself” as the warning of “we got a new kinda war” kicks in on ‘My Genocide’. The genocide “looks like yours” as it brings a huge bassline riff. The following song ‘It's All Good Til It's Not’ has skittering synths underneath before the hard message of being “f**kin’ fine” in this place until it’s not fine. And it rocks in fast and furious at just over a minute. The “f**kin chatterbox” and do you wanna be “the bad guy”, then “speak up” and ‘Talk Straight’ and “watch your mouth when talking to me”. This song is an album highlight as it says what it means!
“Always will be, always was” brings in ‘Identity’. The question asked is “can you be yourself?” and “can you be that person when nobody’s watching – let’s take it back to the start and show me who you are”. The lyricism is concerned about a warning of: you reap what you sow. This album is heavy rock, but it has a very rapcore and message at its heart. Social progress and the problem of denying history is an abuse of human rights – and this is what this album is all about. The themes that are covered range from First Nations identity, racism, mental health and systemic injustice. The themes give the album real weight.
There is a strong spoken-word introduction that pulls no punches, taking aim at white supremacy in Briggs’s hometown of Shepparton, Victoria. The song ‘A Message From Chuck’ that features Chuck D from Public Enemy, gives that straight talk in 57 seconds before the music kicks in. It is followed by ‘By The Time I Get To Yorta Yorta Woka’ and it is a big rap-rock track with a call for “land rights” and “respect”. ‘What Ya Swingin' At?’ brings the humour and wrestling-inspired imagery and swagger with an added sarcastic takedown of inflated egos.
The songs ‘F.M.D.’ (F**k Me Dead) has that hardcore delivery and it is fierce and physical. The drummer is working hard here and the guitar and bassline riffs scream. ‘B.M.F.’ (Bad Mother F**ker) has a more mid-tempo rap pace as the guitar riff underpins it. ‘Big Noter’ features Joe Talbot from UK post-punk band Idles, as he lends his angsty vocals to the hardcore groove, with the bass and lyrics taking down the posers as the guitars detonate. The final song closes out the album has Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello featuring in ‘What's The Matter With Adam?’. He lets rip on his guitar as the lyrics say “everything is better when you’re medicated” and “something’s not right!”. Too funny!
The album ‘Songs in the Key of Wrestling’ is a raucous and fun listen, full of venom, sarcasm, humour and truth telling. “It moves!”. This is a very good album if you approach it with an open mind and listen. The instrumentation is great and the lyrics are talking straight to power.
