Nonstop

Album Review

If any band has embodied the concept of doing things nonstop, it's Sick of It All. After 25 years it seems like they haven't lost a step, and to prove it they went back into the studio to bring some of their classic songs into 2011 with Nonstop. Opening with a revamped "Clobberin' Time," which even includes a fresh cameo from rapper KRS-One, the changes become clear almost immediately. While the songs are still more or less unchanged, everything just sounds bigger. The guitars are massive and heavy, the gang vocals are bigger and rowdier, and the musicianship reflects the decades of experience Sick of It All bring to the table. In a way, Nonstop feels like nostalgia made real. With modern recording and, compared to Blood, Sweat & No Tears, an actual budget, the band has been able to reach back through time to put a fresh coat of paint on history. This is an album that makes the way people remember these songs sounding back in the '80s a reality, and it serves as a reminder of what made Sick of It All such an iconic and enduring hardcore band in the first place.