Does anybody remember the Headache Records “Live on a Five” series? Does anybody care?
I always sort of hated five inches. They wouldn’t even play on most record players because the gears inside thought the record was over before you even put the needle down.
I’m not generally a fan of live recordings either, especially punk ones. They rarely sound good and do nothing to capture the vibe of a live show anyway, so I never really understood the point.
The Anti-Heros weren’t a great band. I never thought they added much to Oi! or punk. They always struck me as the “let’s be assholes just for the sake of being assholes,” type of band. Politically, there isn’t much to find endearing either. That doesn’t always matter, but sometimes it certainly does, and when your lyrics are made up of stuff you could imagine Rush Limbaugh saying, well, you get the point.
For a live record, this is done reasonably well from a recording standpoint, but musically, it’s run-of-the-mill. Their song “The Rapist,” while musically surprisingly good, is a lyrical embarrassment. I understand the mentality of wanting criminals punished, but come on, “we need a stronger government, bring back capital punishment”? It’s a strange song considering how the band is known for glorifying their own violent tendencies against innocent bystanders. I guess that must be different.
All in all, this is a forgettable record from a mediocre (at best) band. If it’s good Oi! you’re after, I can recommend some stuff that’s a hell of a lot better than this.
James is a writer, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.