Skinheads Still Scare People “For Life”

Album Reviews | Nov 8th, 2007

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Record Label: Koi Records
Genre: Skinhead Hardcore
Band Link: link
Buy on Amazon.com link

S.S.S.P. look like the most cliched skin band since… well… all of them. Their name is the embodiment of skinhead idiocy, and the cover art has the cartoony boots-n-braces guy, the US flag, a coat of arms, and of course that Bavarian gothic font. Songs are about staying true, being misunderstood… you know, the usual skinhead martyr complex.

The music, however, is above average for skinhead hardcore. Granted, the bar is already set sea-level low, but you’ve got some talented veterans here. In fact, the only members are Mike DeLorenzo (Kill Your Idols, Celebrity Murders) and the legendary Vinnie Value (No Redeeming Social Value, Kill Your Idols, Warzone, Greyarea, the list goes on). Guitars, drums, and vocals come together well in a stripped-down and satisfying old-school assault.

But given the pedigree of the band, it is surprising that the lyrics and motif are so dull and basic. It’s been awhile since high school, but I recall NRSV not taking themselves seriously, Warzone being off da hook, and Greyarea looking to push musical and lyrical boundaries. S.S.S.P. is a step back by about 20 years.

Maybe these guys are going back to basics to reaffirm their ideals of… I don’t know… dressing like a 1980s British soccer hooligan and then acting defensively defiant about it? Spending your life in a band and acting working class? I never got that whole skinhead pride thing – it just smells of jockish thuggery. Some bands, including bands these guys have been in, transcend it, but the veterans behind S.S.S.P. willfully return to that one dimension.

Bottom Line: Great veterans go back to the basics that we’d rather forget.
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