Classic Records: Sick Of It All - Just Look Around

(Live photo by Zeninho)

While we here at Stuck In The Past enjoy our fair share of chugga chugga vegan metal hardcore, you might find it interesting to know that my (Chip) all-time favorite hardcore record sounds nothing like any of the regular stuff we post. For me, there is no hardcore record as angry and real as Sick Of It All's "Just Look Around". Being that the band just celebrated their 25th anniversary, I felt it fitting to take a look back at what I consider the finest hardcore record ever written.
This is the last record the band released with original bass player Richie Cipriano and the second of two records released by Relativity Records. At the time, the band had already been around about 6 years, gone through a major line up shift (Richie and Arman left and were replaced by Eddie and E.K. only to come back before the recording of this) and the cry of "sell out" began to seep in when they signed to Relativity. I feel like the band used this to fuel the anger in the music and the lyrics for this record. The record starts off with "We Want The Truth" which took off right out of the gate. The band didn't start off with some stomp type intro, just straight forward fast hardcore, set to grab you by the balls and say "hey we're still here and we're pissed off". I remember reading somewhere (possibly in Hardware zine) that Pete and Lou felt like they couldn't write when Eddie and E.K. were in the band. If that's the case, bringing Richie and Arman back into the band made a world of difference because they took one of the only songs that Eddie and E.K. recorded on (We Stand Alone) and made it even better. Now, I gotta say that "We Stand Alone" is my favorite hardcore song EVER. The original is a banger but the re-recorded version added a breakdown and sing-a-long to the end. I remember reading the lyrics for the first time and just felt how angry they seemed at their friends turning their backs on them and how they didn't care ("First you said we hated to much now you say we just can't hate enough, now you're screaming that we've changed we've grown up but our beliefs are still the same, it's still an outlet for anger and strife but one more thing, it's also our life"). Words like these really stuck with me and made me re-evaluate how I viewed bands who were gaining popularity. They also re-recorded "What's Goin On" from the We Stand Alone EP. Lyrical content dealt with government cover ups (We Want The Truth), the constant day to day grind of working a 9 to 5 job (Locomotive), the AIDS epidemic (Indust.) and the brushing off of being called "sell outs" (We Stand Alone). The band also chose to tackle love with the song "The Shield" (at least that's what I interpreted it as) stating "lowered my shield, now i'm not protected I never used to let it down". This was something different from your average NYHC band, Sick Of It All were setting themselves apart. The band also went a different route by collaborating with hip-hop group House Of Pain for a remix of the title track, a track that wouldn't see the light of day until it was released on "Outtakes For The Outcast".
I could really sit here and go on forever about the greatness of this record but it really feels like the outcast in their catalog. The band really plays very little from the record live anymore it seems except on special occasions so when the band does play a song live (other than the title track), I consider it a privilege. The record is still available and could really go for a remaster to bring it back to its glory. Also, as a companion to this record, check out "Live In A World Full Of Hate", a live record released by Lost & Found Records in 1993. Craig had already joined the band but they bust through just about every song they had at the time including Minor Threat's "Betray". Though I wasn't a part of the hardcore scene when this record came out in 1992, I still look upon this record as the turning point for me, leading me to something bigger and better.

Confront - One Life Drug Free

One of the best late 80's/early 90s Clevo hardcore bands, Confront were one of the bands that really brought a sense of "hard" to hardcore. Members would go on to form the band everyone in the 90's loved to hate, One Life Crew. This discography of sorts features the track "Our Fight" which was re-recorded by One Life Crew for their "Crime-Ridden Society" LP. The original release of their 7 inch "Payday" was pressed by Dark Empire Records in the US and Dutch East India Trading in Europe, the same label that released Integrity's "Those Who Fear Tomorrow" and was limited to a 6 song record. This release on (your friendly neighborhood) Lost & Found Records took those 6 songs plus their comp tracks and a live set and released "One Life Drug Free" in 1994 right as One Life Crew was really gaining steam. To the best of my knowledge, this is everything the band recorded (sans a demo if there is one), so if there is more to update, let me know and Ill do so accordingly.
I ripped this from the original CD source at VBR setting and scanned the cover so its a nice high-res image. Check it out.

Confront - One Life Drug Free

http://www.mediafire.com/?zmn2wwkzzuu

Sick Of It All - Live In A World Full Of Hate

How this hadn't been uploaded yet is just beyond me. In my opinion, this is the best live hardcore record ever recorded in terms of energy and overall sound quality. I mean, cmon...its Sick Of It All. This was recorded in 1993 after Just Look Around had come out and they blow through everything you could want to hear from that era of the band as well as cover of Minor Threat's Betray, which was released on their We Stand Alone EP. 24 tracks spanning SOIA's musical career at the time. This was released by Lost & Found Records and unlike many of their other releases, this was a legit release. The band was not paid royalties from it (to be expected) and went into the story in an interview with Hardware zine...interesting read. The record was also released a picture disc which looks great if you can track it down. The band has officially been around for 25 years now and they still put on a better live show than any current band...listen to this and hear why.

*NEW LINK*

Sick Of It All - Live In A World Full Of Hate

Lost & Found Records Ad

Chances are if you bought a zine in the mid 90s, you would have seen an ad for Lost & Found Records out of Germany. Looking back, the label seriously ripped off nuermous bands yet bands continued to release records with him. I remember reading an interview with Sick Of It All in Hardware where they said confronted him but didnt go too much in depth about it. While it was a pretty scummy thing, the label did make releases that were either out of print or had never been available on CD available. I mean I was 16 in 1995...how could I get that first Turning Point 7 inch (which is still one of my favorite records) or even hear the "Chung King Can Suck It" record that was limited to 110 copies? So while he may have scumbagged people, he did make records available for us who weren't around to get em the first time. This particular ad is from a European zine so the print is in German and I cant read it but look at the releases he had out: Uniform Choice, Burn, Turning Point, Undertow, 108, Ignite. From what I understand, the label is more of a distro now focusing on other forms of music. If anyone can confirm that, let me know.

Casey Jones' Case Against Lost and Found Records

Love them or hate them, LOST AND FOUND put out some crucial records in the 90's. I got this little tract in a copy of the Bloodlet live 7" (which justin is supposed to rip for us). It's nothing new, but i have never seen it in this form; a small pamphlet that looks like it would be telling us about the evils of sin, and not the evils of a German record label.