NOFX: HARDCORE – REVIEW BY BRIAN JAMES

What do you do when yer shitty little punk bands’ been around for  28 years, recorded 11 full-length studio albums, 15  EP’s, a countless number of 7-inches, and sold over 6 million of those records worldwide? You pretty much do whatever the fuck you want. NOFX has never signed to a major label. They tour wherever and whenever they want. They rarely do interviews. Their sound has been copied a million times over by a million forgotten bands.  And I still can’t figure out if Fat Mike is a drug addict or not.

Coming off the anti-success of their limited split 7-inch with The Spits, NOFX’s latest nugget is a 9 song EP simply and appropriately titled HARDCORE for its collection of 80’s hardcore tracks covering 80’s hardcore bands.  The EP is a blistering, sloppy mess worthy of review for the respects is pays to the good ol days of punk and hardcore.

The EP tops off at less than 8 minutes and burns through a fury of screaming chorus lines like “I’ll kick you in your fuckin face” and “Police Brutality”. The production value has been slightly downgraded for a vintage aesthetic and the album was originally intended to be released with no title, no artwork, and no track listing.

The dirty little secret of disenchanted purists and anarcho punx across the globe, NOFX has as many haters as it does fans.  That’s bound to happen when you’re the only punk bands around who can put out a release like this and still rake in the cash. Ya can’t hate em for that can ya?

Bands and songs covered

01 Agnostic Front - Friend Or Foe

02  Necros - IQ32

03 Urban Waste - Police Brutality

04 Social Unrest - Mental Breakdown

05 Battalion Of Saints - No More Lies

06 unknown

07 Sin 34 - Say We Suck

08 Rebel Truth - Child Hosts The Parasite

09 Stretch Marks - Professional Punk

For you record collecting enthusiasts, this release is available as a 7-inch on black, clear/ black, or white splatter vinyl. As a 10-inch on black and white split vinyl. Or as 12-inch picture disc of God knows what as the picture.

Release Date: 08/02/11

Label: Fat Wreck Chords

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NOFX ON DOPE SICK RADIO

1. NOFX drummer, Eric "Smelly" Sandin, appeared on Dope Sick Radio Episode 43 on 05/05/09. The complete interview and episode can be heard here - CLICK FOR DIRECT LINK