2003, Sick Of It All is back!!!!!!! with the new album �life on the ropes� If you think of New York Hardcore you think SOIA, the very successful album �just look around� is very aggressive and straight ahead NYHC, Scratch the Surface is aggressive and loud, that is the sound of SOIA, raw, aggressive hardcore straight from the streets of NYC. Life on the ropes is an album with a variety of styles but it�s still aggressive and loud; witch is a good thing, it points out that the band is playing with styles and exploring new things, but they�re still hanging on to their own recognizable sound witch will satisfy the hardcore SOIA fan�s, but with the new sound�s they attract new fan�s. If you listen to the album it�s still mainly hardcore what you hear but along the tracks you hear different styles. What I really like is the massive gang-vocals witch you hear in the openings song. Relentless: It�s brute, raw and aggressive, a song that will get to your attention right away and won�t leave your head, so you have to listen the rest of the album, great song. Paper tiger (faking the punk): Guest appearance of JOHN JOSEPH, the godfather of the hardcore and original frontman of the Cro-Mags. It�s a call to the hardcore-scene to get back to it�s roots and away from the pop glam; ... once there was a purpose, once there was a voice its gotten so deluded, robbed of its claws picked, stripped, bones clean left the heart, took what you need watered down, now it's just a parody... My compliments to SOIA for this new album �Life on the Ropes� a great album and I am glad they�re back with new material. Line up: Lou Koller: vocals Pete: Guitar, Vocals Armand Majidi: Drums Craig Ahead: Bass, Vocals Tracklist: 01 Relentless 02 All My Blessings 03 The Land Increases 04 Paper Tiger (Fakin' The Punk) 05 The Innocent 06 Silence 07 For Now 08 View From The Surface 09 Going All Out 10 Rewind 11 Sh@t Sandwich 12 Butting Heads 13 Take Control 14 Kept In Check 15 On The Brink 16 Trenches Reviewed by Dinges