thirty years of sick of it all. boy, what a statement of passion, defiance and strength of will. sick of it all is one of the very few bands which are around for that long and still maintain a flawless discography. their latest full length "last act of defiance" is to me as enjoyable as "blood, sweat and no tears" from the eighties or "scratch the surface" from the nineties or "death to tyrants" from the two thousands. i don't know any other band that stood true to their sound and roots for that long and still shows no sign of declining quality or wearout.
despite my adoration of these nyhc veterans, i wasn't all over the pre-orders when they went live. mostly because of the price. over fourty bucks is nothing for the faint of heart. in cause of my hestitation the clear vinyl limited to 100 copies sold out over at century media europe. when the release date came nearer and i saw the red vinyl edition still being available at emp mailorder, i knew that i would regret it,if i did not buy a copy. so i ordered it together with the cradle of filth record of the last post.
holding the product in hands now, i am sure it was worth the price of admission. the presentation is very lovely and does the occasion justice. "when the smoke clears" is basically a 60-page artbook wrapped in faux leather with gold foil print. the back of the hardcover has a printed ten-inch dust sleeve glued to the inside and houses this nice opaque red 10". there is also a cd containing the musical part of this release. it is to find on the inside of the front of the hardcover.
the artbook contains tons of photos from throughout the moved existence of the band, the lyrics to the five new songs and a few written words to each member from companions such as matt kelly from the dropkick murphys or dennis lyxzén from the refused. the five songs are just what i expected from sick of it all. punk induced new york hardcore with my absolute favourite being "fortress". this one definitely has the potential to become a live classic. i am really happy to have this baby. 200 copies made on opaque red vinyl. century media. 2016.
