D.O.A.
(Sudden Death)
Hard to believe these Canadian knuckleheads, fronted by Joey "Shithead" Keithley, have been scoring goals, crashing the boards and getting tossed into the penalty box for over 30 years now. Since 1978 their brand of punk rock mayhem has earned them fans the world over. Kings of Punk, Hockey and Beer is a 13-song compilation that focuses on the band's three loves (yup, in that order). While old, bitter D.O.A. fans might complain that it's not hard or fast enough the songs on here have enough guitar grit to keep any rock fan happy.
The record opens with the hard-hitting, hilarious "Donnybrook" (sample lyric: "This is no brouhaha, it's a total donnybrook!") while "Dead Men Tell No Tales" pushes the gas pedal down a bit harder with buzzsaw guitar and some spoken-word interludes. "Devil's Speedway" has more of those Keithley cartoon character meets pro wrestler vocals and some nimble bass playing. Elsewhere they include their cover of Classy Freddie Blassie's "Pencil Neck Geek" and the record ends with their over 2-decade old cover of B.T.O.'s "Taking Care of Business." If you're looking for some classic hardcore then point yourself toward their Hardcore '81 or Something Better Change records but if you want a good time punk rock record with some fun, meathead riffs that doesn't take itself too seriously then you could do a lot worse than this.
Recommended Tracks: "Donnybrook," "Dead Men Tell No Tales," "When Power Came to Canada," "Taking Care of Business" TIM HINELY
