Violent Reaction - Dead End (Quality Control HQ - 2014)

With more and more hardcore reviewed on the webzine, I just couldn't let it go any longer and not talk about the most Oi! of all the current hardcore bands. I'm of course talking about Violent Reaction, coming from the northern shores of England, involving guys playing in about a billion other bands (I'll guess we'll take about some of them sooner or later here). I'm currently waiting for the new LP to hit the european distros (if I can avoid paying like 30$ of shipping cost I'm willing to wait a couple more weeks), so I'll just deal with their 2014 7" called Dead End.

Let's see. Can you imagine a perfect mix of 80's USHC (Negative Approach/Negative FX/Last Rights/you know the score...)/UK82 (Exploited when they were not doing boring metal/Discharge...)/80's english Oi! ? If you can, then you pretty much got what Violent Reaction sounds like. Blitz worship all day everyday, just perfect ! If you don't, think mean, angry, pissed-off violent songs. Oh yeah, and think straight edge. Violent Reaction is a fucking straight edge Oi! band.

On that 7" you'll find two pure Oi! anthems ("Dead End" and "Can't Be Beat"), three fast in-your-face compromiseless hardcore songs ("Guilty", "Shut Up" and "Stand Accuse") and the last one ("Waste of Space") is kind of a mix of both. The red thread in that record being fucking anger. That I can relate to. Best songs being EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM (but more seriously "Dead End", "Shut Up" and "Can't Be Beat" are my favourites).

Plus you don't only get 6 awesome songs, but they also come in a sick package : unfold that thick paper cover to the X-shape it has (do you get more edge than this ?) and you'll get all the lyrics, band pictures, thanklist, the all thing. Though I don't know if all the versions of that record have that X-shape cover (I guess mine is a later repress of the QCHC version, got the thing on red vinyl). I love when a record comes in a great cover, that's no secret to you anymore, so I can just be pleased with what I have right now in my hands.

You can still find a few copies of that gem in US or european distros, but if I were you I would hurry the fuck up and get it, we're dealing with the last and final pressing of that record right now (if I'm not wrong). Best european hardcore band going on right now, and they could easily fight for the title of best Oi! band has well !