Sick Of It All

Death to Tyrants (Abacus)
by Tim Den

With 2006 being the band’s 20th anniversary and the taste of their last few albums’ mixed reviews still in the fans’ mouths, Death to Tyrants had a lot to live up to. Don’t get me wrong, I doubt anyone would desert this NYHC institution over a mediocre new album, but I’m willing to bet that the members of Sick Of It All personally wanted Death to Tyrants to be something special, given the circumstances. If anything, this should be the jewel in the band’s 20-year crown that shows the world what hardcore really means: Not the kind of fashion-oriented, posturing-filled bullshit that has become the norm.

So does Death to Tyrants live up to expectations? Fuck yeah! When a bullet train like Sick Of It All decide to go all out, there’s no room for disappointment. Using the “dark” feel of Scratch the Surface and Life on the Ropes and driving it with an assortment of grooves, breakdowns, and singalongs a la Built to Last, Death to Tyrants is equally angry, urgent, and beaming with revitalized spirit. For the most part, the pummeling mosh parts dominate the momentum, but when snipits of melody sneak in – “Die Alone,” some of “Faithless” – the desperation is even more apparent. Sick Of It All have had enough of this fucked up administration, of their beloved hardcore genre getting taken over by ’80s glam copy cats, of the complacency of the masses in general. Death to Tyrants is the legendary group boiling over, exploding into the faces of their enemies with unstoppable force and power. It’s one of the band’s best in years, and again proves that no one does hardcore better than Sick Of It All.
(www.abacusrecordings.com)