Sick of it All “Nonstop” Review
Sick of it All
Lou Koller
Pete Koller
Craig Setari
Armand Majidi
*review by Denise Borders
@punkworldviews
Since 19 fucking 86, this band has been stomping on your face from the stage and through your speakers. The only negative thing I can say about hardcore legends, Sick of it All, is that they don’t tour the US enough! They seem to storm through Europe for the most part, and trekking through their home country a bit less. Boo.
Unlike many bands, SOIA have been strong and steady through their entire career. With only two member changes, they’ve kept fans happy and even after stomping around on stage for over 20 years, they still play every show as if they’re adolescent teens. They’ve never been anything but solid, high energy, New York hardcore and that just plain rules.
As if they haven’t released enough albums, they decided to do us all a big, fat favor and give us another! Nonstop dropped a few weeks ago on Century Media and I couldn’t have been more stoked to check it out. The album celebrates 25 years as a band, and while it’s not technically new music, the re-recorded tracks still come through my speakers with the shiny-new-toy feel. That’s a damn good thing.
Available Now!
Track List:
01 Clobberin’ Time
02 Injustice System!
03 Sanctuary
04 Scratch The Surface
05 Us Vs. Them
06 The Deal
07 Just Look Around
08 Ratpack
09 World Full Of Hate
10 Pushed Too Far
11 GI Joe Headstomp
12 Never Measure Up
13 Chip Away
14 Busted
15 Locomotive
16 My Life
17 Friends Like You
18 Relentless
19 No Labels
20 Built To Last
I’ll start with the first track, Clobberin’ Time. The title says it all. With an anthematic “IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIIIIIME” into yell, you know you’re in for a beating. If you’re not the “mosh pit” type, you probably need to jump behind the bar for this one because I don’t think fans will stand still. In less than 90 seconds, I’m sure someone has hospital worthy injuries.
Injustice System is a track that’s already been featured on multiple SOIA records, but it doesn’t make it shine any less. With lyrics that I can back, I am so down for this song. It’s got that classic NY hardcore feel with just the right amount of sing-a-long choruses and Lou’s perfect-for-hardcore voice. One of my favorite things about his vocals have always been the ability to actually understand what he’s saying. It’s almost like… while he’s obviously screaming above a normal level, something about him is calm. This is also due to the excellent recording/producing on the album of course, as the better quality will give us a much cleaner end result. It could be what embeds that trust in us to trust in what he’s saying and what the band is playing. It sounds kind of lame but NO FUCKS ARE GIVEN.
Sanctuary was originally on Call to Arms, which was the band’s fifth studio album. By then, they had been around the hardcore-block a few times and had this shit down. This is another classic SOIA song. You’ve got your high energy chorus, quick snares, scream-a-longs, positive lyrics and all of this crammed in less than two minutes. The lyrics to this track are actually really touching and I think most anyone can relate to them. I’d rank it in my top five favorite SOIA tracks. Boys… I love you.
I can’t break EVERY track down, simply because there are 20 on the album and let’s face it, no one is going to read that much because you’re all retarded. Okay maybe not the retarded part… MAYBE.
I’m not skipping far ahead to Us vs. Them simply because this is a favorite of mine. It was originally released on their Built to Last (1997) record. I love the way it begins, with the softer to louder chanting, clapping, drums, then guitar… then it breaks into a gnarly scream and you KNOW people are getting all hyped on by then, at which is rolls into the track. It was good then and it rules as a re-record. I can’t say enough good things about the lyrics these dudes write, and this song only solidifies that… the lyrics to Us vs. Them fucking rule.
GI Joe Headstomp is a classic SOIA track, hailing from their debut, 1989 album, Blood, Sweat and No Tears… which totally describes my life to a T. SO HARD, MANG. In a little over 90 seconds, you can definitely get your headstomp on… on someone. The name of this track is awesome just in itself, but combine that with a kick ass track and you’ve got a classic, NYC hardcore tune to kick some faces to. This track actually doesn’t have lyrics, but I don’t think a theme t0 headstomping necessarily needs lyrics, right?
Skip down to Relentless and you’re golden. Besides being one of my favorite words ever, this track fucking rules all that is hardcore. It has a perfect beat with superb hardcore lyrics for both the angry and PMA kids out there. The chorus…. so fucking awesome.
RE – LENT – LESSSSSSSS
Ending the album with Built to Last was a fantastic move. Besides the obvious title being a great summary about the band (being that 25 years later, they are still dominating the hardcore world, so they are obviously built to last), it’s just an overall awesome song. When it comes to hardcore, I’m a huge thrash fan and while they aren’t always considered thrashy, this song has those fast, super up-tempo pieces that really compliment the slowed down, sing-a-longs that accompany them.
Even if you own every Sick of it All album to date, this one is a must have for any hardcore fan. The quality of the recording is beyond excellent, and it gives a brand new feel to even the oldest SOIA tracks. You just can’t go wrong with these dudes. They’re a good band and even better people. They could be the biggest assholes on the planet and still sell out shows, but instead they’ve stayed level throughout their entire career, and I don’t see that changing.
The album is available now on Century Media so grab yourself a copy now and GET TO CLOBBERIN, DAMNIT.
Century Media
Sick of it All Official
About the Author
Denise Borders 39, Los Angeles. Denise founded PWV in 2008 and remains the primary manager and photographer/videographer. She is not secretly obsessed with Joey Cape.
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