BLASTMAT – Broke Life, Working Class CD Review

BLASTMAT – Broke Life, Working Class (2015)
United Riot Records American Oi! Zine

Connecticut hardcore veterans BLASTMAT, featuring Forced Reality’s Joe Nettleton on drums, are back! Six years after the band’s last effort, the “National Policy” CD, these CT hooligans present their United Riot Records debut in the form of “Broke Life, Working Class”, featuring nine tracks of crossover mayhem!

Therefor I guess BLASTMAT is one of those bands you either love or hate these days. Although their latest work is definitely a little less crossover than the band’s old stuff, BLASTMAT still mixes various styles of underground noise on “Broke Life, Working Class”. For an album that barely lasts 21 minutes that will either daze you in confusion, or knock you out in excitement! I will count myself to that last batch of people, because the mix of influences by bands like Stormtroopers Of Death, Warzone and Forced Reality is banging and all falls pretty good together on “Broke Life, Working Class”!

An easier comparison is of course to mention that BLASTMAT pretty much goes through every phase Agnostic Front has been through in their career… on a single record! The main attraction is the raging hardcore-punk, but with your mid-tempo Oi! stomper and a thrashed out headbanger here and there BLASTMAT still hangs on to their musical roots, topped off with a working class, anti-social, heavy drinkin’, fuck you attitude!

“Broke Life, Working Class” is short, fast, furious and unfortunately only available on CD, though I reckon the music in combination with the nicely drawn artwork would make a cool 10” as well. Maybe someday…WWW.UNITEDRIOTRECORDS.COM

NYC PUNK RECORD FAIR NOVEMBER 8th 2015

NYC PUNK RECORD FAIR AT THE BEAUTY BAR IN NYC

SKINFULL - LIVE IN NYC, THE FINAL INVASION CD/LP Review

SKINFULL - LIVE IN NYC, THE FINAL INVASION!

United Riot Records

Earlier this year Coventry’s (UK) finest Skinfull made their first ever live appearance on American soil at the NYC Oi! Festival. While debuting live in the United States, their New York City gig was also the band’s last ever live show before calling it a day. Of course an event like this had to be caught on tape, and the result is Skinfull’s final output, the “Live In NYC, The Final Invasion!” CD and LP!

If you count in the “Yesterday’s Glory” release (a double LP in a beautiful gatefold sleeve) from earlier this year on Vinyl Nasties Records, “Live In NYC, The Final Invasion!” is actually the second live release by the band this year. But since the “Allied Invasion” show in Hildesheim, Germany was recorded back in 2008, the set-list obviously differs, although ‘golden oldies’ like “Unity”, “Smash ‘Em To The Ground” and “Love It Or Leave It” are featured on both releases.

But besides the tracks from the band’s debut album “Drinking Class Heroes”, Skinfull also performed plenty of songs from their split album with Bakers Dozen (“Skinfull”, “Scum”) and the band’s last studio album “Good Intentions… Bad Ideas” (“Skins Don’t Run”, Bulldog Breed”, “When Will I Learn”, “Stand Proud, Stand True”), while the set ends with the cover song “Skinhead”, originally performed by the magnificent Skinflicks!

Overall “Live In NYC, The Final Invasion!” brings an excellent overview of Skinfull’s work, the sound quality is more than proper and the artwork is obviously an ode to Link Records’ “Live And Loud!!” series that was released at the end of the 80’s, giving it that classic look. Solid live album!

American Oi! Zine