V/A - Oi! Ain't Dead Volume 4 - This Is Brickwall Oi!
Rebellion Records
The “Oi! Ain’t Dead” series is without a doubt one of the best compilation series at the moment with fresh, overall new, tracks from today’s finest Oi! and streetpunk bands. It’s tough to pick a favorite out of this series as all volumes have been crackin’ so far! I definitely know which one is the hardest of them all though and that is the upcoming “Oi! Ain’t Dead Volume 4” and with the sub-title “This Is Brickwall Oi!”, you know Rebellion Records is going for the kill with this volume!
Collecting some of the label’s most brutal bands, four of them to be precise, “Oi! Ain’t Dead Volume 4 – This Is Brickwall Oi!” turned into a smashing collection with each band providing three brand new bombs! And after the LP format (volume one), the 10” format (volume two) and the 7” format (volume three), this lunacy is unleashed on a double 10” set with 400 copies on black vinyl and a limited 100 copies on ultra-clear vinyl, making it a must-have before you even heard it! But enough chit-chat, what bands are on it?
One of the bands you would most likely expect to be on it is of course CONCRETE! This band has been crushing it, literally, ever since their 12” maxi-EP “We’re All Reapers Here” dropped on Cadre Records in 2013 and they continue crushing jaws with their three-track contribution to “Oi! Ain’t Dead Volume 4 – This Is Brickwall Oi!”! You all probably know “Strike The Rat Down” by now (if you don’t, check out the official video of it on YouTube!), but even after hearing it over a hundred times it still destroys! Same goes for the mid-tempo stomper “Crane City” (killer solo included) and the “This Is Rock ‘n’ Roll” cover by Belgian ’77 punk legends The Kids, brought in that frantic and raging CONCRETE style of course!
Not to be missed on volume 4 is of course RAZORBLADE! Bringing ‘music for maniacs’ since 2002, the Dutch heavy weight champions of Oi! music recently announced they are stopping after many turbulent years, but they are definitely going out with a bang bringing you some of their heaviest work to date! My absolute favorite track on their part, that instantly grew into one of my favorite RAZORBLADE tracks in general, is “Thunder”. A glorious song about the city of Rotterdam (I happen to live there) and how it literally rose up like a Phoenix from the ashes Nazi-Germany left after Stuka’s bombed our city flat in World War II. This song gives me goosebumps and pride, certainly nothing less!
On the C side we find Australia’s PLAN OF ATTACK. Their last work, the “Stick To Your Guns” LP in 2013 for Rebellion Records, was like a vicious pitbull, it grabbed you and didn’t plan on letting loose! With these three tracks being their newest material ever since 2013’s LP, these Aussie mad men didn’t lose their tricks! With “Here For A Good Time, Not For A Long Time” these lads pay the ultimate tribute to dear friends that went to soon, with in particular Colin “Riot” McQuillan, a great homage! Though the same can be said about their take on “Riot Squad”, with the band’s style you would expect a cover of the Condemned 84 song, but as soon as the siren-like guitars kick in you know what time it is!
Up next, but certainly not least, are Pittsburgh’s IRON CITY HOOLIGANS! Although the band has a new vocalist by now (Matt Fowler of The Bureau and Same Old Guys), the three tracks on this compilation are brought to you in the same line-up that brought you 2014’s “Armored Saints”. Going forward in the same style of heavy weight Oi! music with finger bleeding solo’s, these steeltown maniacs bring you their best work ever recorded in the form of “Another Streetfight”, the blistering “Murder Of Self Defense” and “Rivers Of Steel”! Killer!
So there you have it, “Oi! Ain’t Dead Volume 4 – This Is Brickwall Oi!”, an absolute stomper of a compilation that is not for the faint hearted! A must-have, but I warned you about that already!
