Sick of It All
Last Act of Defiance
Release Date: Sep 30, 2014
Genre(s): Pop/Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Heavy Metal, Hardcore Punk, Punk Revival, Punk Metal, Skatepunk
Record label: Century Media
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Album Review: Last Act of Defiance by Sick of It All
Great, Based on 4 Critics
Based on rating 4/5
For close to 30 years, Sick Of It All have been the definitive name in hardcore. Although they have never been a band to reinvent the wheel in a vein similar to the likes of Refused or Fucked Up, they've consistently churned out solid releases year after year.Last Act Of Defiance is unapologetically a Sick Of It All record in the truest form. From the blistering intro track "Sound the Alarm," with an urgency akin to previous records like Built To Last, to the anthemic single "Get Bronx," with a call-and-answer chorus reminiscent of their Fat Wreck Chords-era material on Yours Truly, SOIA appears to have come full-circle in encompassing their vast catalog of prior works.
Based on rating 3.7/5
Review Summary: Is Sick of it All still fresh in 2014? If it's even a concern, you're in the wrong place.On Sick of it All’s debut album KRS-One introduces the band and their style of music. On the track he talks about Sick of it All “spreading the hardcore reality in 89” – ending by telling the listener that the band’s music is “fresh for 89”. Twenty-five years later and the band are still doing the same thing – but is it still fresh for 2014? There’s no doubt that in 1989 Sick of it All’s sound was pretty damn fresh.
Based on rating 7/10
You'd think that after nearly 30 years, Sick of It All might be ready to settle down someplace warm and enjoy a nice, cushy retirement from being professionally pissed off, but if their tenth album is any indicator, the fight is far from over. Returning to new material after taking a break to polish up some old classics on 2011's Non-Stop, Last Act of Defiance finds the band making a furious return with one of their most muscular albums to date. Working again with metal producer Tue Madsen, the album's beefy production brings the band's classic hardcore sound screaming into the modern era, giving Sick of It All's sound a sonic heft to match their discontent.
Opinion: Excellent
It's all a bit predictable with NYHC legends Sick Of It All, ain't it? Another album (their 10th) that is firmly four stars out of five, can't really go any higher, can't really go any lower, because the sound is so set in stone that, well, any sort of upward or downward movement just ain't allowed. And, really, no one does it better than these guys. While other old-school NYHC hardcore bands have a waft of fromage floating off the gang chants and breakdowns, SOIA have always managed to just rip and shred.
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