Thursday, October 29, 2009

Review: Harley's War - Hardcore All-Stars

It could be said that Harley Flanagan is an under-appreciated icon of music. Considered the youngest punk rock star, he got his start at age 12 as the drummer of The Stimulators. Several years later, he founded The Cro-Mags, an influential hardcore punk band turned thrash, which since 2002 has not included him in the constantly changing lineup.

Along with these, he also has a thriving “solo” project under the name Harley's War. This project consists of music he has created through collaborations with other big names in the hardcore scene. The highlights of these collaborations are featured on Hardcore All-Stars, the first release (which includes both a CD and DVD) under the name Harley's War.

The CD portion of the release comes in three parts: the studio album itself, Harley Flanagan's 1982 solo demo, and live CBGB recordings. The first few tracks, up to “Hardcore 'nyhc-og'”, feature ex-Cro-Mags Ryan Krieger and Gabby Abularach, on drums and guitar, respectively. These are easily the heaviest songs on the album, much different than any music the Cro-Mags produced. From the powerful blast beats of “Hardcore L.A.M.F.” leading seamlessly into the appropriately haunting “Nightmare”...

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