For some unknown reason all I have been listening to lately is American Oi! I have been listening to quite a bit of Arresting Officers, Kicker Boys,
U.S. Chaos, Iron Cross, Anti-Heroes, and all of those late 80's comps, The Spirit of Oi!: American Style, and U.S. of Oi! CD compilation on Step-1
records. I know some members on here dig this stuff also, what are some of your favorite bands from that early American scene?
I will always love oi! Anti-Heroes and The Bruisers will always be the kings of American oi! I like Iron Cross but I have to say that they're not as
great as people make them out to be. Other stuff I like, although some don't go as far back as the Anti-Heroes, Stormwatch, Headstrong, Wretched
Ones, Niblick Henbane, Templars, Oxblood, etc.
‘Do you know what a love letter is? It’s a bullet from a fucking gun. Straight through your heart.’
I'm from New York and always loved what the local scene had to offer with The Templars and Oxblood. My favorite song by Oxblood is "Our Colors". It
always gets me pumped whenever I hear it. I love the first two Anti-Heroes albums. I like the patriotic Oi bands such as New Glory, even if some of
them tend to be a bit too right wing, but in the end it's only music and one does not always have to agree with the message in order to enjoy the
music. Bands had guts back then to sing about what they believed in.
You might like the albums "|They Never See" by Moonstomp and "Six Gun Justice" by Best Defense. Might think of some lesser known stuff and add it
later.
You might like the albums "|They Never See" by Moonstomp and "Six Gun Justice" by Best Defense. Might think of some lesser known stuff and add it
later.
I just located a copy of Moonstomp/Kicker Boys split CD put out by Step-1 Records back in the 90's. Can't wait for it to arrive in the mail. I only
have Moonstomp tracks on various American Oi! comps that are out there.
They were great. That album "Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven, But Nobody Wants To Die" was amazing.
Did they ever release anything after that?
BKT.
Sort of. They broke up in the middle of doing another album. Several years later, the tracks that were recorded were released on a split album with
The Antagonizers by Street Anthem Records. Sound is a lot rougher and not nearly as melodic, but you can still tell that it is the same band.
Some I've heard, some I haven't. Some are sketchier than others. I used to get into a lot of this kind of thing but don't like a lot of it these
days. Iron Cross, for instance, seemed so overrated once I heard them, since the quality and sound was total shit. However, they are fun to see
these days with Sab singing and decent backing musicians.
If you're into Templars and Oxblood, maybe check out Bottom of the Barrel? Never hunted down anything from BotB, but the shared some members and were
into the stripped-down right-wing Oi from what I understand.
Battlecry is another possibility. Punkcore released a full discography on one album. I think Phil Templar played drums for them at some point, and
they recently did some reunion shows.
Paxton Boys, to my knowledge, only did a 7", but it has four good songs.
If you like Wretched Ones or Niblick Henbane, check out anything on Headache Records.
Red, White, and Blue put out some stuff on, I think, Pure Impact. You might like it (or hate it).
Youth Defense League straddled the line between Oi and hardcore. Damn near every recording sounds like ass, but there are versions of Old Glory and
New Glory which are worth seeking out.
The first Pressure Point and first two Patriot albums are pretty raw Oi. I like the later stuff from both, but they don't retain the raw late-80s
sound you're asking about.
Hunt down a list of the old GMM Records discography. They put out a lot of good releases in the 90s.
I still love Stormwatch and need to get the new album released this year.
Brass Tacks "Just the Facts" is late 90s but still has some good tracks.
There is a bootleg for The Uprise ("Friends, Fights, and Fun"?) that floats around. Some of those guys were in New Glory.
If you want some more recent stuff that has the same ultra-patriotic and right-wing stance, check out Hated and Proud's "Let Freedom Reign" or the
American Defense Records releases.
Vulture Rock Records also put out lots of good (and probably lots more bad) albums.
If you check out anything and like it, let me know. I can try to point you to other stuff.
Battlecry is another possibility. Punkcore released a full discography on one album. I think Phil Templar played drums for them at some point, and
they recently did some reunion shows.
Paxton Boys, to my knowledge, only did a 7", but it has four good songs.
Youth Defense League straddled the line between Oi and hardcore. Damn near every recording sounds like ass, but there are versions of Old Glory and
New Glory which are worth seeking out.
Vulture Rock Records also put out lots of good (and probably lots more bad) albums.
If you check out anything and like it, let me know. I can try to point you to other stuff.
I grew up on Long Island am well aware of Batte Cry. I haven't caught any of their recent shows yet. I have their LP that was released on Punkcore
Records and I also have their discography that was released on Pure Impact Records. All I need is their ep that was released on Punkcore to complete
my collection. They had some really great songs and some really slow boring songs. I am also aware of Paxton Boys who also released one 7" on Punkcore
and it's an excellent ep. Wish they stuck around longer to release more great tunes.
Vulture Rock was also an excellent label in which I have a few releases. The Revolts- Strength Thru American Oi released on that label was always one
of my favorites.
I've always loved Youth Defense League since my high school days in the late 90's when a friend of mine included their songs "Skinheads '88" and
"Youth Of America" on a mix tape. They will always be one of my favorite bands to come out of the NY scene. They were gutsy and made no apologies for
what they sang and spoke about. I give them a lot of credit for that.
Just for the record, I'm not just into the extreme Patriotic Oi bands, but I do listen to a lot of different bands with an open mind. However, I will
not tolerate any bands that are straight up into the whole Nazi/KKK thing. I don't support bands who openly sing about hurting people for racist
reasons, but I have no problems with bands who take great pride in their country and singing about it. I have a lot of friends who are in the
military, but I also come from a family of immigrants who worked their asses off to build a life in this country by never once asking for a handout.
Some I've heard, some I haven't. Some are sketchier than others. I used to get into a lot of this kind of thing but don't like a lot of it these
days. Iron Cross, for instance, seemed so overrated once I heard them, since the quality and sound was total shit. However, they are fun to see
these days with Sab singing and decent backing musicians.
If you're into Templars and Oxblood, maybe check out Bottom of the Barrel? Never hunted down anything from BotB, but the shared some members and were
into the stripped-down right-wing Oi from what I understand.
Battlecry is another possibility. Punkcore released a full discography on one album. I think Phil Templar played drums for them at some point, and
they recently did some reunion shows.
Paxton Boys, to my knowledge, only did a 7", but it has four good songs.
If you like Wretched Ones or Niblick Henbane, check out anything on Headache Records.
Red, White, and Blue put out some stuff on, I think, Pure Impact. You might like it (or hate it).
Youth Defense League straddled the line between Oi and hardcore. Damn near every recording sounds like ass, but there are versions of Old Glory and
New Glory which are worth seeking out.
The first Pressure Point and first two Patriot albums are pretty raw Oi. I like the later stuff from both, but they don't retain the raw late-80s
sound you're asking about.
Hunt down a list of the old GMM Records discography. They put out a lot of good releases in the 90s.
I still love Stormwatch and need to get the new album released this year.
Brass Tacks "Just the Facts" is late 90s but still has some good tracks.
There is a bootleg for The Uprise ("Friends, Fights, and Fun"?) that floats around. Some of those guys were in New Glory.
If you want some more recent stuff that has the same ultra-patriotic and right-wing stance, check out Hated and Proud's "Let Freedom Reign" or the
American Defense Records releases.
Vulture Rock Records also put out lots of good (and probably lots more bad) albums.
If you check out anything and like it, let me know. I can try to point you to other stuff.
GMM is one of all-time favorite labels. So many incredible bands/releases. Vulture and Headacho both put out some great stuff
One band I'll suggest is Almighty Lumberjacks of Death. Not pure oi, but strongly related. Barnsey, who posts here sometimes, set up Disconnected
Records and put out a full discography cd for ALD, as well as a collection of Niblick Henbane's early releases called "..and We Fall," and a
discography for Headstrong called L.A. Bootboys '87. I'd recommend all three.
‘Do you know what a love letter is? It’s a bullet from a fucking gun. Straight through your heart.’
Theres a ton of remastered better sounding YDL stuff out there, all those old tape trader sounding YDL releases are going the way of the dodo after
all the interest in them a few years back and the Vulture Rock re-releases.
I'll second or third Best Defense too. Great band.
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