ALBUM REVIEW: Waking The Sleeping Dragon! – Sick Of It All

Believe what you want to believe, but hardcore is as alive and well nowadays than it always has. The scene is certainly more fragmented than it ever has been, but this has simply benefited the founding of so many more scenes, deepening a genre already bursting with people wanting a piece of the cake. The cake in question though is one that was first thought up and brought to the masses back in the mid 80s, thanks to bands like MADBALL, AGNOSTIC FRONT and indeed SICK OF IT ALL, all of whom are still going with tremendous intent still. SICK OF IT ALL are fast approaching their 33rd(!) year as a band and are set to release their 12th record Waking The Sleeping Dragon! to further solidify their status as the alpha of a genre that they helped birth and aren’t even close to relinquishing. Sure, they aren’t going to reinvent the wheel but who wants anything but raging riffs and good times from SICK OF IT ALL anyway?

It all kicks off in a blur and doesn’t really slow down, as the opening chaos of Inner Vision brings ample energy to start the record. That Crazy White Boy Shit keeps the energy high with rolling drums and classic thrashing riffs that eventually slow down into a pit inciting riff that swings for the fences. This is a theme throughout Waking The Sleeping Dragon! as SICK OF IT ALL deliver the same meat and potatoes hardcore they’ve always done, but with the intensity of a band who have everything to prove rather than 30 year veterans.

Bull’s Success is the first taste of the band’s tongue in cheek attitude on the record, as the Oi! punk anthem takes potshots at the barbarism of bullfighting and the joy one can feel when watching a matador get stacked against a crazed bull, all whilst featuring added vocals from Tim McIlrath from RISE AGAINST. This is immediately followed by the screaming rager Robert Moses Was A Racist that keeps said tongue firmly wedged in the side of their mouths whilst the punk rock firecracker continues to go off with force.

This is easily one of the best, and most enjoyable, things about Wake The Sleeping Dragon!. Where so much of today’s hardcore is based in the incessant want to be harder than everyone else, having a veteran band like SICK OF IT ALL return to the classic punk roots of the genre and clearly not give a shit about anything other than how much fun they’re having is refreshing. The 17 tracks never outstay their welcome, and whilst it can be a little bit much to take in, there are enough stand out moments that the first listen will ensure at least some of the songs will stick firmly in the front of your mind.

Whether that be the confrontational and aggy Self Important Shithead, or the classic hardcore riffs and musings on the current scene in Hardcore Horseshoe, or perhaps the more politically tinged assault of Bad Hombre that sticks two fingers firmly up at the current US administration, there is a frightful amount of music here for any hardcore fan to get giddy about. The best thing is that nothing is not what you’d expect, this is just 17 tracks and half an hour of no frills hardcore coming from the best in the business. This won’t change the world, but if you listen closely, you can start to hear the tapping of punk rockers two stepping their way through life.

Rating: 7/10

Waking The Sleeping Dragon! Is out now via Century Media Records.

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