Sick of It All are back with their first studio album in about two years. I think after 7 influential albums delivering their dark hardcore mosh, including a stint on a major label, you know what to expect. What you get on Life On The Ropes is no different than any other classic SOIA album. Dark, heavy hardcore with distinct basslines, mob vocals and Lou Koller’s recognisable scream.
Opener “Relentless” takes no prisoners and goes straight for the trademark Mosh. “All My Blessings” starts with a powerful Mob vocal reminiscent of NYHC Youth Crew style before blasting into a faster number of hardcore punk.
“Paper Tiger (Fakin’ The Punk)” is lyrically a cry of the rise of Fake bands flying under the Punk / Hardcore banner – “Once there was a purpose, once there was a voice, it’s gotten so deluded, robbed of its claws. Picked, stripped, Bones Clean. Left the heart, took what you need, watered down, now it’s just a parody”. Ending on the powerful repeated shouting of “Somebody’s Fakin’ It” says it all really – Pissed Off and Angry, as ever and a stand out track for me.
“Silence” is a much faster straight-forward old school sounding track. I can imagine the circle pits and the mosh during the breakdown already. “For Now” is a shouted group vocal number, which no doubt will get everyone singing along. It has a much more slower feel to it, even sounding like an Oi! Song at times? Actually, it’s got a similar verse to “Silly Thing” by The Sex Pistols, Interesting. “Rewind” see’s a return to the metallic influenced Sick Of It All with lyrics dealing with Taking back actions that have been done – “Thought I could control it but I buckled, lashing out for no good reason at all”.
One of the most interesting tracks on this record is “Shit Sandwich” which is a short instrumental number travelling at 100mph. It makes a nice break, before blasting into “Butting Heads” which again features an excellent mob chorus and powerful guitars. “On The Brink” gives us a much more melodic feel, with some great sing-a-long opportunities. Even when doing Melodic Punk Sick Of It All are top of their game.
The artwork for the record, done by Mike Pappa, really adds to the tone that the album delivers and features a style now familiar to fans of the band through previous artwork and the band’s animated videos.
This album is just what you’d expect from Sick Of It All, if you like any of their previous material you won’t be disappointed. They’re back over in the UK touring next year, and judging from the songs on this record, they’ll have some great new songs to add to their set.
Phil