This article was automatically translated by AI.
Looking back - the 90s - hardcore in its prime. At least for me....
.... finally, I got out of my small village to see AGNOSTIC FRONT, MADBALL, IGNITE, SICK OF IT ALL, SLAPSHOT, and SHELTER live. At that time, bands were forming here at every third milk can, but most of them dissolved before their first performance. However, there were also some bands that set milestones in German hardcore history, such as BOSKOPS and RECHARGE from Hanover, SPERMBIRDS from Kaiserslautern, HAMMERHEAD from Bonn, IDIOTS from Dortmund, and RYKER´S from Kassel. They all had one thing in common: they all broke up in the mid to late 90s, and except for RECHARGE, they reunited years later. This scenario has also been repeated multiple times in bands over the last 15 years.
So it was with RYKER´S, who managed to be "officially" disbanded for 13 years. Until their reunion in 2013, although the guys did get together for a few concerts in 2003 and 2008. However, there was no reunion back then. In spring 2014, I was very surprised when they released the mini-album "Hard To The Core". I hadn't even noticed the reunion a year earlier, and now the first full-length album is on the shelves. And not just in CDs but also as red and yellow pressings on vinyl! That definitely earns a bonus point! Unfortunately, I only received a press kit :-( No vinyl, no digipack, just 14 MP3s :-(
However, these 5 guys from Kassel don't need that bonus point at all. Because "Never Meant To Last" hits you in the face as if they were standing on stage in front of me 20 years ago, tearing the asses off 200 sweaty people. It's a big spectacle!!!
Okay, one thing has changed: it's no longer Kid-D. belting the lyrics into the microphone, but Dennis aka Sergeant D, who also sang in the hardcore formation BRIGHTSIDE in the 90s.
But now to the album, which blows everything away from the first song "My Demons". At 1½ minutes, the first song is the shortest of all 14 tracks, which otherwise all run for 2 to 3 minutes. But the direction is immediately clear, short and painfully to the point.
In the second song "Fair Play Overrated", Mike Dijan from BREAKDOWN makes his appearance as the first of three guest vocalists.
From the highest gear, the sixth, RYKER´S downshift in the third song "Pig Justice". It gets a bit more melodic, but "Pig Justice" is clearly a highlight of this record. Amazing. In "The Outcast's Voice", the tempo picks up slightly again, only to go full throttle again in the fifth song "The Tenth Level"...
Samuel El Action from SCHEISSE MINELLI takes over the vocals in the sixth track "We Ain’t Go Away" and his voice fits perfectly.
But there's still a build-up with "The Age Of…", which reminds me of "One" by METALLICA. There is no higher honor than being compared to this hit!!!
And it continues with hard-hitting thrash-metal-staccato-hardcore in "The Downfall". "Never Meant To Last" is simply a force.
With "Back In The City", the next punch to the gut follows. However, my MP3 song is titled "Back Of The People", and since I only have the 14 MP3s and a short press text, meaning no hardware (CD/LP), booklet, or lyrics, I had to search a bit online because with "Enemy Of The People" there is a song with a nearly identical title. Quite unlikely.
Both deliver nasty punches to the gut though ;-)
The third guest vocalist is Craig Setari from SICK OF IT ALL. Craig fits perfectly with the music of RYKER´S. With the 11th song "Distractions", the 5 guys from Kassel glide together with the New Yorker into the final phase of this amazing album.
12. "Remembrance" and 13. "High Five In Your Face With A Chair". The titles of the songs speak for themselves, right?
33 minutes of great hardcore, full score, and everything would have been fine. But unfortunately, the grand finale of the brilliant album is the "Cowboy Song". What is this crap? Almost 4 minutes of sluggish noodling. What is that? This is not hardcore, this is soft music! Absolute rubbish and therefore a point deduction! UNFORTUNATELY!
Bilder
2 Bilder
