Like many, I used to be the kind of person that, once a band strayed too far or sort of wore out their welcome, I wouldn't pay an ounce of attention to anything new that they did. So even though I always fucking loved "Alpha Omega" when I was a kid (an album that is widely condemned as the death knell for the Cro-Mags), and still do to this day, I never really listened to anything the band released after that. Of course, playing into that was the fact that the lineup drama that was going on was totally confusing, and admittedly "Near Death Experience", the follow-up to "Alpha Omega", is simply not a very good record (though make no mistake, I own it). But above all, the fact of the matter is that "Revenge" came out in the year 2000—more than a decade after the band's last acceptably good album (by "popular standards"), "Best Wishes", and seven years after "Near Death Experience". So... who gives a shit, they're "washed up", right?
Wrong.
Here's the thing: A few years ago, quite some time after "Revenge" had originally hit the streets, it hit me... the Cro-Mags are one of the greatest fucking bands in the history of mankind, and I am obligated to own everything they've ever recorded. Period. End of story. The next thing you know, "Revenge" is mine, for the whopping grand total of about $2—shipping included. And what do you know? I fuckin' love this thing. Sure, sure, there are some immature lyrics that are a little hard to swallow, and yes, this is but a pale shadow of the band responsible for legendary hardcore benchmark "The Age of Quarrel". You can't look at it that way, though. The band name's the same, but it's not really the same band, you know? And at the end of the day, the songs are still really good, so who cares if it sounds totally different? There are still some fast hardcore tracks that flirt with their earlier days, even though most of the stuff is much more melodic. Plus... shit, man, "Without Her" is so god damn catchy... I just can't ignore that kind of songwriting mastery. And yes, those are the blazing leads of ex-Suicidal Tendencies guitarist Rocky George that you hear all over the place. So how can you go wrong? I listen to this CD all the time, seriously. It's really fuckin' energetic.
There was a time when you could find brand new copies of this disc for a buck literally all over the place, as I guess it suffered from a lot of people maintaining the same narrowminded opinions as I did prior to my grand reawakening. You can still grab it for next to nothing though, and if you're a cheap bastard and you keep scouring eBay you'll surely find one for a dollar or so from time to time. But if I knew then what I know now, I'd gladly have paid full price. Don't fall prey to the trap of what is and is not "cool" to listen to:
Comments
damn dude, 5000? that’s insane. i can’t help you with what to post, but your blog fucking rules, it’s one of the best out there. -megan
4.28.2005 | By Anonymous
I’m definitely with you on the Cro-Mags or the No-Mags, or whatever they’re callling themselves these days. I had the same realization about two years ago—an untouchable band. It’s unfathomable to me that kids going to shows now (metal or hardcore) have probably never heard Age of Quarrel or Alpha-Omega. It’s utter insanity, I tell you.
Anyway, keep up the good work. I’m digging it.
4.28.2005 | By Carter
id take Alpha omega over Best Wishes any day! When the scratching kicks in i want to lose my mind!
4.28.2005 | By EMS / SA MOB
“God damn! Alarms are ringin’ in my head…” Ha, ha. I love that shit. So good. I still worship “Best Wishes”, though. It’s impossible to choose a favorite record of theirs, truly.
4.28.2005 | By Andrew Aversionline
I saw them on that “reunion” tour right around the time “Revenge” came out…it was Harley, Mackie, Parrish, and Rocky….and they were great
And All Out War and Shutdown opened, so needless to say it was a great show
4.28.2005 | By Brian
oh, and I think the Harley’s War CD is great too
4.28.2005 | By Brian
Hey andrew, kickass blog you’ve got. One suggestion though: how about posting an mp3 of every featured item that you add? most times it’s a pain in the ass finding listening samples. Keep up the great work!
4.29.2005 | By Willi
the gods…
these tunes are about the only thing making work bearable right now.
-drone
4.29.2005 | By Anonymous
Willi-
I don’t have time to do that regularly per se, but what I’m thinking about doing is maybe once a month posting a set of mp3’s - one per disc - of some of my favorites that I’ve covered on the site in the past one to two months. We’ll see how that all goes! Thanks for the suggestion…
4.29.2005 | By Andrew Aversionline
ive managed to never hear the cro mags, so im downloading that first one right now. fuck 56k.
5.1.2005 | By Wally McDougal
Surprisingly this is pretty good stuff. I quit the Cro-Mags after Alpha-Omega like so many others, so this is interesting. I’ll have to track this one down
5.3.2005 | By Eric
This albums rules, I own the 12” and the CD… never underestimate Harley!
Fuck the haters stuck on A.O.Q, they need to move on!
5.18.2005 | By Geneterror
Sorry but Age of Quarrel is the best album ever created. John made the band hands down.
11.18.2005 | By Anonymous