Sick of it All: Based on a True Story

Apr 202010

Sick of It All‚Äôs last record, 2006‚Äôs Death to Tyrants is widely regarded as their best album since their benchmark album, 1994‚Äôs Scratch the Surface.¬† Not to say that everything in between those two was rubbish; they had their moments.¬†¬† I can‚Äôt deny that I‚Äôve shouted along with ‚ÄòCall To Arms‚Äô, or attempted to keep up with Lou Koller (vocals) on ‚ÄòDisco Sucks, Fuck Everything‚Äô (amazing title), but a bit of the ingenuity and classic hardcore fire that the band is so famous for was not consistent.¬† 1997‚Äôs Built to Last probably came the closest, but even that had a little too much filler for my taste.¬† Following up an album like Death to Tyrants is certainly no easy task. ¬†The band‚Äôs work was cut out for them to match the intensity and sheer ferocity that inhabited that album.¬† The question is, did they create a worthy follow up and once again reassert themselves as the kings of New York Hardcore music?

Based on a True Story is exactly what you would expect the band to do after roaring back with such a pissed off album as Death to Tyrants and is pound for pound, song for song, almost as good.¬† Who knows maybe a year from now I might consider it better.¬† ¬†¬†As with any SOIA (which I‚Äôll refer to them as from here on) album, there is no lack of aggression or anger.¬† While there is nothing particularly different about a hardcore band being aggressive and angry, they distinguish themselves by not sounding like a bunch of misguided punk-ass malcontents. ¬† The message is justified. ¬† They don‚Äôt whine about girls, they don‚Äôt generate some generic message about how they can never be stopped (see shitty faux hardcore band Hatebreed) and they will never waste your time with misogynistic, hateful bullshit that so many bands pride themselves on.¬† No, SOIA is here to remind you that although the world can be a pretty crappy place to¬† live, it‚Äôs still our world at the end of the day and it‚Äôs our responsibility to make it better.¬† That, ultimately, is the one thing this band wants you to walk away with.

While Death to Tyrants had a very heavy, almost suffocating amount of anti-Bush lyrical content, the new record is allowed to breathe a little more with Bush being gone.¬† Still, there‚Äôs a general sense of cautious optimism in the vibe.¬† This is reinforced by the band in interviews in which they‚Äôve stated that even though the previous guy is gone, the current savior is still working for the same assholes. ¬†¬†¬†This is probably best represented in the anthemic beast of a track, ‘Good Cop’ in which Lou states: ¬†A ruse, a hoax, a trojan horse/It’s the old guard with a new look/They made good cop man of the hour/They won’t ever let go of power.

The album opener,‚Äô Death or Jail,‚Äô rips open with a fat ride cymbal count-off and launches into just pure, classic SOIA fuck you-style aggression.¬† The song is the band pondering what exactly it is that makes people go down the dark or light paths in life.¬† Pete Koller (guitars) riffing is as huge as it‚Äôs ever been. ¬†Producer Tue Madsen has really found this band‚Äôs sound and I‚Äôm glad the production hasn‚Äôt strayed from what Death to Tyrants established.¬† ‚ÄòDeath or Jail‚Äô will probably be the opening song on their current tour and I can‚Äôt wait to hear Lou shredding his vocal chords screaming ¬†What evil force dragged them down/What demon singled them out?

‚ÄòThe Divide,‚Äô the second track, starts with a delicious little chunk of chugga riffing from Pete and quickly descends into a classic full-on fast punk beat¬†¬† Lou implores to everyone that it‚Äôs time to smooth shit out and keep your cool with lines such as:¬† ¬†Making the best of this is such a challenge/Being ill at ease/Always learning how to act/To preserve the honesty. At the risk of sounding extremely corny, it‚Äôs pretty inspiring stuff.¬† This is one of those albums you put on when you wake up in the morning to forget about the shitty job you have to go to and remind yourself that you aren‚Äôt your fuckin‚Äô khakis.

As the album wears on its pretty apparent that there is a healthy dose of sing-a-long style melodic punk that nearly matches the harder edged songs.¬† ‚ÄòA Month of Sundays,‚Äô which is the band’s tribute to the now extinct NYC club CBGBs is a perfect example of this:¬† We made friends for life/Yeah, there were fights/But we turned out alright. I‚Äôm sure some of you are giving me a sigh and an ‚Äòoh brother‚Äô at some of the lyrical content here, but when set to the fast-paced Oi! style melody with that typical SOIA rhythm it works and it works really well.

Aside from what I‚Äôve mentioned a few of the other standout tracks would be, ‚ÄòDirty Money‚Äô ‚ÄòBent Outta Shape.‚Äô ‚ÄòLowest Common Denominator.‚Äô and ‚ÄòWatch it Burn‚Äô.¬† ‚ÄòBent Outta Shape‚Äô is a pretty modestly upbeat SOIA song until the end of it just goes completely off the rails in one of the most manic and fastest song outros I‚Äôve ever heard them do.¬† When I heard Lou describing the song a month ago he likened it to Slayer and I think he undersold it to be honest.¬† It‚Äôs just so fucking vicious and fast and raw- it makes Slayer sound a little tame to put it bluntly.¬†¬† I love me some Slayer, but Lou Koller has fucking conviction in his voice, folks.¬† Something lacking from other by-the-numbers outfits these days.¬† ‚ÄòWatch it Burn,‚Äô musically speaking, is really just so-so.¬† It‚Äôs Lou‚Äôs performance on here that sells the damn thing.¬† While listening to this I could only imagine the vocal takes in the studio and assume that he severely damaged his vocal chords.¬† I don‚Äôt think I‚Äôve ever, and I mean ever, heard Lou be that loud or that vocally coarse.

I‚Äôd really love to keep on going here, but I think you get the point.¬† This album is good.¬† It‚Äôs really good.¬†¬† Tue Madsen‚Äôs production doesn‚Äôt just highlight Pete and Lou, but also lends a thunderous sound to Armand Majidi (drums) that he most definitely deserves.¬† All of these tracks are nothing without Armand.¬† It‚Äôs a no-brainer to call the drummer the foundation of a band, but in this case it‚Äôs the absolute truth.¬†¬† There is no other punk/hardcore drummer that mixes styles so fluidly and brilliantly as this dude does, and now you get to hear it all in superb clarity with Madsen‚Äôs incredible production skills.¬† Easily lost in the mix on any album is the bass player, but thankfully Craig Setari‚Äôs bass is loud and clear and as solid as it always has been.¬† He‚Äôs tightly locked in with Armand and rumbling just underneath things at all times so you know he‚Äôs there.

If you‚Äôre into punk and/or hardcore and you don‚Äôt know who this band is then shame on you.¬† If you‚Äôre curious, then this is a good album to start with.¬† It‚Äôs on iTunes, their website and most likely in those antiquated CD shops right now.¬† Put down your coffee/veggie burger/vibrator or whatever it is and get it done.¬† If you‚Äôre anything like me, you need this band and this album to issue a reminder that no matter what is going on, shit is going to be alright.