LOU KOLLER FROM SICK OF IT ALL’S QUINTESSENTIAL GUIDE TO HARDCORE – THE FINAL DAY!

To celebrate the release of Sick of it All’s awesome new album, Based on a True Story, we asked SOIA vocalist Lou Koller to compile the definitive list of quintessential hardcore albums. Luckily for us and all of you, he agreed! So we’ve been running one entry a day from Lou’s list of the top-ten (+1) hardcore records of all time for the past couple of weeks. Now here’s Lou’s final entry…

Bad Brains, Bad Brains

Here is the granddaddy of them all. When this came out way back when, it was only on cassette. Its energy and attitude were fresh and out of left field! The riffs grab you and HR’s vocals were so unique you knew they were something special. From “Sailin’ On” and “Don’t Need It” right into “Attitude,” you don’t get to catch your breath; then they hit you with “The Regulator,” and they just keep coming!!! They kept it going on later releases like Rock for Light (which was this album redone with Ric Ocasek from The Cars producing), the amazing I Against I, and even the Quickness album. (But anything after that isn’t worth mentioning.) Great as these releases were, they were never as intense as this first one. Their influence is probably the most wide spread – they definitely influenced everyone on this list as well as mainstream groups like Sublime, The Foo Fighter, 311, Deftone,s etc. If you ever got to see them live in their heyday, you are lucky! It is a standard that all bands should be held too!

So there you have my ten (+1) quintessential hardcore albums. There are many I missed (anything by Dead Kennedys, for example), and some you might think that a few of these shouldn’t be on here. Well, make your own and tell us what you think those should be on here!

Later,

Lou

THE REST OF LOU’S LIST

Discharge, Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing
Black Flag, Damaged
Agnostic Front, Victim in Pain
Snapcase, Progression Through Unlearning
Sheer Terror, Just Can’t Hate Enough
Negative Approach, Tied Down
The Misfits, Earth A.D./Wolfs Blood
D.R.I., Dirty Rotten LP
Cro-Mags, The Age of Quarrel
Minor Threat, Entire Discography

Based on a True Story is out now on Century Media. Visit Sick of it All on MySpace for tour dates and all the latest news from the band.