When the underground institution of hardcore exploded out of the United States’ major territories back in the 1970’s, few could have imagined that it would have developed into one of the most stylistic and cultural musical influences that throughout it’s nearly 40 year existence would be scrutinised, criticised and brutalised even characterised as something it clearly was not; from it’s original intentions hardcore as an iconic genre has been misused and misplaced more than George Bush’s war wand. 

For all its aggressive and incendiary face values, what lies beneath is a thought provoking and distinct positivity that despite common misconceptions yields a phenomenal philosophy of self belief and togetherness, continually maintaining its popularity in one form or another over the years.  Moreover, in today’s representations its authority and mastery are more evident than ever and although often popularised as ‘punk’, the modern scene is rapidly becoming tuned into the fact that for true independence and intelligent creativity, hardcore has no equal.

For all the above, the debate continues around the authentic ‘godfathers’ of hardcore; Black Flag, Minor Threat, Bad Brains and of course Fugazi roll off the tongue, but few could deny a bust in that hall of fame for New York’s perennial hard hitters Sick Of It All.  Formed in 1984 by brothers Lou and Pete Koller, they are one of the few seasoned acts who have taken a concept and remained true to its origins.  “We’re not a tough guy band and we don’t portray anything that isn’t real.  We’re out there to get people together not tear them apart and it makes me proud that we’ve had such a positive influence on the hardcore scene.  Nobody can accuse us of anything else”. 

Having just completed a tour of the gold coast with fresh Canadian slips Comeback Kid, a stint in Singapore and culminating with two shows in Japan, sticksman Armand Majidi is ready for some well earned down time.  “I’m feeling jet lagged and weird from the tour having had lots of uncomfortable airplane sleep.  I came down with a cold on the way back and really, at the end of a tour your body just gives in to stuff you wouldn’t normally permit it to feel”.  Not wanting to poke the bear in the zoo Headwarmer quickly gets down to the congratulations for a monumental 20 years in the business and enquires as to whether legendary status was ever part of the plan.  “If we thought about the future back then I’m sure it would be different today, I don’t think we would have even been musicians.  People who obsess about what they’re gunna be in 20 years time often never end up in that position, its just not part of their personality.  People who were more obsessed with money and stability were those who jumped ship. We weren’t like that and fortunately such values have paid off for us”. 

Unlike so many pretenders to the hardcore crown jewels, SOIA have managed to ignore the hype, denounce the media improvisations and stick to the beliefs behind their conception and thank god because without the archetypes, the true values of this genre would have up and vanished like a fart in the wind.  “The origins are about freedom, not being caught up in materialistic fashion ideals and a lot of hip hop has brought that into hardcore. It’s no better for it and they’re trends we could do without.  Somehow the industry has managed to segregate things, it’s succeeded in making people really narrow minded and that takes away from the underground movement on a thousand different levels.  If you ignored the mainstream you would normally be much more accepting of different styles and approaches”. Over the course of their twenty year reign, SOIA have encapsulated everything intrinsic about contemporary America and whilst others would base their approach on theatrics, they’ve stuck to what they’re good at.  “That’s what our fans appreciate the most that we’re honest and hard working, real people with no fronts. We don’t come out with any pretension and we don’t take two hours putting costumes on before we go on stage.  For us we just throw on athletic gear and get out there”, chuckles Majidi.  “Lyrically we’ve always condemned violence, condoned deep friendships, helping out your fellow man, improving yourself from within. That type of message has a strong impact on the way people view you. The whole tough guy persona of NY hardcore isn’t what people got with SOIA.  You don’t have to adhere to the fake image and you don’t necessarily go out and get into fights to be accepted”.

With Craig Setari on bass, SOIA have their ensemble and it’s as congealed and impenetrable as it was when they first became a unit, having evolved from the unsettled prototype.  “I wasn’t a fully committed member until 1992”, he acknowledges.  “I was still involved in the background because I was real close to Lou and Pete as friends; writing, doing shows, basically I was a member but in and out for the early part.  Craig joined in 1993 and actually got us our first show, so we were just working together as friends all along and its no mystery we’ve ended up with the line up we have today.  It’s the base on which we’ve been able to move forward as a band”; and to stunning effect.  With nine full length slabs of furious authenticity, SOIA have shifted the earth’s magnetic plates and sent shock waves across the globe that has inspired hardcore fledglings possibly more than they could have ever imagined.  With all the original 80’s attitude coursing through the veins of Career Suicide, MED-x, Government Warning and Wasted Time. 

Their first album proper however, ‘Blood, Sweat and No Tears’, released on Relativity almost went unnoticed, bouncing by like a new born baby on a pogo stick but what was evident, is that four artists set out to make music in accordance with their heritage and youthful inspirations with no preconceptions of how they would be received so when they ushered in a new epoch in their decibel laden history with ‘Scratch the Surface’, arguably their most effectual album, Majidi and his squadron struck gold.  Dripping with such dynamite as ‘No Cure’ and ‘Step Down’ surely it was as good as it could get.  “That was really a two fingered salute to those who wanted a more radio friendly sound from the band.  The engineer at the time wanted to be the one who made us that way, so he mixed the album in a certain style and it did sound more polished, but to be honest it sounded like crap!  After a month or two we realised we had to remix the whole thing and even re-record a couple of songs. Billy Anderson eventually came on board who was well known on the west coast for working with bands that had a pretty hard and alternative edge.  He exposed even more aggression and understood what each song needed, particularly that really compressed distorted vocal on ‘Maladjusted’.  He made that song as sonically ugly as possible”.

Displacement in production and engineering brings with it a different set of difficulties however.  “Tue Madsen the guy who did ‘Death to Tyrants’ had the same understanding of the band as Billy Anderson.  We haven’t been that lucky with the others and its kind of a crap shoot of dealing with different producers.  You’re reliant on them to know what they’re doing so you’re a slave to their limitations; you just hope they can add to what you’ve already laid down.  We got lucky on ‘Scratch…’ and ‘Death to Tyrants’”.

The creative undercurrents have had much to do with their potency and appeal. There’s a fire burning within that is purely and simply their music and where ‘Scratch the Surface’ is a cornerstone, Majidi admits they’ve tinkered with alternatives but eventually come full circle and in the latest album, there’s plenty of early parallelism.  “Both those albums are very similar stylistically.  One of the biggest departures for us was ‘Yours Truly’ which was much more experimental, but ‘Death to Tyrants’ was written as a return to a sound that people expected when we did ‘Built to Last’.  So that and ‘Scratch…’ are probably our two best.  We did stuff on other albums that was worth trying but if you’re not happy with the final result it makes all the difference so in the end, we would never play those songs live and for good reason”.  

Not surprising since the live set displays much of their edge and colour but is actually a fundamental calling card for the messages they’re attempting to convey.  Of course they play their instruments like they’re .44 magnums and in all the excitement could blow your head clean off.  The shows are hotter than a docker’s armpit but the crucial ingredient, their leg of toad and eye of newt, is an ability to inhale the audience, chew them up into a mad morass before spitting them back out as a heaving hoard of hardcore wonderfulness and for them, that’s been the most satisfying feeling.  “Our music is aggressive and the live show has become more intense but at the end of the day, you want it to be a party and not some sort of battle royale.  A recent show in LA stands out and it’s the best when you see the crowd reacting positively to your music.  Whether they’re hurting each other or not I can’t tell but you have to be comfortable with what you’re doing and not have to pull off some kind of crazy move to enjoy it”.

To be able to hold its head above the industry quicksand that has consumed so many, there’s a resilience required to the superfluous gluttony.  For all the ethics and independent ideals of its origin, the hardcore movement has seemingly been better received in Europe than the U.S, for which SOIA are thankful, but because of the frivolity of the media it comes at a price.  “The media have really affected the way bands are perceived and received around the globe.  Certain spots in the mid west where if you put SOIA on stage and said it was hardcore people would say, what are you talking about this is punk!  We’ve been labelled punk by those who consider themselves hardcore today, the reason why is because we don’t sound like Slayer.  Metal and metal-core is often considered the true hardcore so it’s strange that what comes out in our music is considered just punk.  New York played a big part in meshing the two genres together and we had a lot to do with that but get this, a band from Detroit called Negative Approach were really responsible for what is referred to today as the NY hardcore sound, but they weren’t even from NY.  If you don’t sound fully metal you’re not considered hardcore.  It has something to do with haircuts I think”.

 If Headwarmer may voice a humble opinion, SOIA are the definition of hardcore; loud guitars, a chaotic full on lifestyle and at its heart, a whole anti-establishment ethos that cuts them apart from the cardboard backdrops of the modern representation.  Particularly those who prescribe to the ideal but churn out 3 minute chart toppers about fancying your best friends mum, they should tighten up their panties and go back to school. 

As seems to be the norm for a band with direction, there’s a tendency to change labels more than they change their, er…amplifiers!  It’s not a conscious progression or a fault in any way, it’s just that some bands are destined to evolve and eventually they will outgrow their corporate shoes.  “The Fat Wreck years were our longest with any label, seven years in all.  But every year we got a little bit smaller as a band.  We had such a good relationship with them, they’re all great people and were really supportive of the band, they just didn’t have a very big European presence and we felt we needed that base”. 

Breezing through East West and Elektra like a Tasmanian tornado before settling with Fat Wreck, only to see a new opportunity and Abacus as their long lost partners.  “The European market became our bread and butter and still is today.  If we had to rely on a career in the US we probably wouldn’t be a band right now.  Europe has kept us above water” admits Majidi, interestingly a self confessed Leeds Utd fan.  “The underground scene in Europe is more in touch with itself.  In the US it’s almost deliberately been scooped out from under everyone by the labels.  The majors have taken everything that was good about underground and tried to make new young bands a more marketable version of the real thing.  Kids don’t have to leave the mall to look for something they really want to hear, they don’t feel the need to really research and look for records that may take more time to discover.  The whole sense of community has been taken away, it’s all homogenised now”.  There’s actually no greater compliment to their peerless individualist ethic than carrying the flag in the face of adversity while others continuously switch allegiances. 

Despite a sense of disillusionment with the modern era, Majidi can still pick out some mercurial times from two decades at the top.  “I’m most proud of the mid 90s when we first played a lot of those big European festivals.  Crowds of 50,000 or more all accepting this little underground subculture as something they could enjoy.  It was a turning point in our career and we felt almost legitimised in a way”.   Perhaps it’s to do with the early hardcore circles they used to prowl but there’s nothing auspicious about the bands longevity.  “Negative Approach, Murphy’s Law and Agnostic Front, they were the ones we were seeing every weekend and who had a lot to do with us getting a band together.  We don’t claim to be the innovators” admits Majidi.  “We’re gunna be seen as the Ramones of hardcore.  Nobody expects anything earth shattering from us now, our concepts are accepted so there’s no real need to prove or impress and as long as we’re consistent live and put our hearts into everything we do, we’ll be alright”.

It’s a positively mouth watering prospect for their fans worldwide that SOIA show no signs of slamming on the anchors.  The drivers to keep the machine well oiled and progress on their terms remain unabated and whilst we celebrate another milestone in their history, Headwarmer is certain that this story is far from over.