It’s kind of an unwritten law that live albums aren’t supposed to be that good. I mean think about it, you don’t get any of the energy, the stage show or the band’s presence on a cd do you? So somewhere along the line Fat Wreck Chords have managed to break the mould by creating their ‘Live In A Dive’ series which has rewritten the rules and launched a plethora of live records that, well, rock.
Bracket and No Use For A Name have already been given the live treatment to good effect and now for the label’s biggest challenge yet, the chance to give New York hardcore legends Sick Of It All the live going over. And what is certainly not an easy task is pulled off well – you still don’t get the full brutal barrage of the SOIA live experience, but Lou Koller and crew are jaw-droppingly awesome throughout, as you would expect from 15 years of hard graft on the road. There’s energy, emotion and aggression in abundance, something that all three of the ‘Live In A Dive’ records have managed to convey, despite the obvious difficulties to overcome.
So what makes the Sick Of It All live record so good? Well the abrasive and visceral vocals come across fantastically, although with Ryan Greene at the mixing desk that’s literally no surprise. And even though I’m not a huge Sick Of It All fan it’s pretty hard not to be taken in by the likes of ‘Built To Last’ and the groovesome bassline to ‘Just Look Around’ before its invetiable sonic explosion. ‘Let Go’ is dedicated to “all the couples in the house” and is a track as powerful and aggressive as you could possibly wish to come across.
The anthemic ‘Us Vs Them’ has a backing vocal of hundreds, while ‘The Bland Within’ is as corrosive as they come. Pete Koller blasts out riff after riff and the drumming, as you come to expect from Sick Of It All, is as hard and rythmnic as possible. There’s very little interaction between band and crowd, but with the likes of ‘Injustice System’ no doubt causing hurt and pain in the pit, I guess that can be excused. Before the band launch into ‘Scratch The Surface’ Lou lays down the law, telling the kids to pick up each other if they fall and for the smaller fans to get out of the way. It raises a small laugh before the band get back to business, doing what they do best. And no, it’s not acting the fool.
‘America’ is a little more melodic than some of the other tracks and certainly stands out as being one of the better tracks, especially when Lou snorts “how could they do this to me?” A lucky fan provides guest ‘vocals’ on ‘Rat Pack’ before the superb ‘Sanctuary’, one of my favourite SOIA songs. ‘Busted’ is blasted through with some of the best drumming you will ever come across, before the triple closing salvo of ‘Friends Like You’, ‘Clobberin Time’ and ‘Step Down’ – the latter is the perfect singalong way to end a damn fine, and energy sapping, set.
I’m a big fan of live albums and to a Sick Of It All fan this is a must buy. Even if you aren’t overly anamoured with the band it’s a cd that contains most of the band’s ‘hits’ and is as good a starting point as you could probably get. Get some mates round, whack this on loud, close your eyes and start a circle pit because this is the closest thing you can get to having New York’s finest in your living room.
Paul