Back catalogue: All genres

Review: This Ramones album - one of their very, very many - is packed with relentless guitar energy and a proud punk ethos. Originally released in 1987, it captures their raw spirit and is packed with gritty rock licks and infectious melodies. Featuring standout tracks like the opener 'I Wanna Live' and the guttural vocal bite of 'Garden of Serenity' it showcases the band's evolution while staying true to their signature sound, during what was a pivotal moment in the US punks' lengthy career, a decade or so on from their explosive arrival.

Review: Are The Ramones now best known for being on t-shirts worn by people who have never heard the band? Maybe. But either way, Too Tough To Die, which was released 40 years ago, is often seen as a return to form. Really, it deserves a more radical categorisation. Released in the mid-1980s, the album felt out of step with the era, not in a negative way, but in how it captured the contradictions of its time. Made without a clear direction, its incongruity became its defining feature. As Joey Ramone noted in a 1988 interview, "Around '84, the world was changing drastically... Things were getting scary. So, our songs started changing." This shift in tone marked a new chapter in their musical evolution.

Review: A coast-to-coast double live helping of leather-jacket clad Ramones punk mayhem unlike any other, this double CD collection features the band's performances at San Francisco's The Old Waldorf on 31st January 1978 as part of a KSAN-FM broadcast, whilst the second disc offers an East Coast counterpart performance at Stage One, Buffalo, New York on 8th February 1978 where this WBUF-FM broadcast features Marky Ramone taking over the drums from Tommy. Chock to the brim full of essential bangers such as 'Blitzkreig Bop', 'Sheena Is A Punk Rocker', 'Rock N' Roll High School' and 'I Wanna Be Sedated', to name but a smattering few, this is the Ramones at the height of their initial punk rock glory before their tumultuous 80s era would bring about both their best and worst material and eccentricities.

Review: Originally released in 1978, Road To Ruin would serve as the fourth full-length from leather jacket-clad punk pioneers The Ramones. While a rejected, mitigated flop upon release due to the band's swing for the radio fences (or airwaves) complete with sonic elements at the time alien to the punkosphere such as acoustic guitars, lead guitar solos and 60s pop ballads, in the near five decades since release, the project has been reevaluated as a bold successor to 1977's iconic Rocket To Russia (although that album did place 50 places ahead on the Billboard 200 at the time of release). Marking (no pun intended) their first effort to feature drummer Marky Ramone, who replaced Tommy Ramone after his departure due to the inability to keep up with the rigors of touring and lack of residuals from their previous record; the album's glossy, clean production has slowly morphed from malaise to praise over the ensuing decades, while offering up some of their most timeless and essential bangers including 'Needles & Pins' and 'I Wanna Be Sedated' (which if Spotify metrics are anything to go by, is the band's most popular song after, of course, 'Blitzkrieg Bop').

Review: While Baltimore, Maryland might be best known for the popular HBO crime drama The Wire, whereas musically the city is regarded as one of the pinnacle breeding grounds for modern hardcore punk thanks to the likes of Trapped Under Ice, Turnstile and End It, one outfit far more intrigued by the bluesy garage rock origins of the punk genre are Ravagers. Returning just a year on from 2024's acclaimed sophomore effort Too Raw For The Law, the band's third full-length On The Loose continues their cementing as true punk n' roll revivalists with fuzzed out grooves and lush melodies coalesced into one bombastic boogie that's as immediate as it is timeless.

Review: Literally decades long overdue, Volume 3 marks the first new album from Queens, New York hardcore punk heroes Reagan Youth since 1990, following on from their iconic 1984 debut EP Youth Anthems For The New Order, later re-released as Volume 1 with additional bonus tracks, whilst the second volume would be distributed upon the band's initial break up. Inspired by the tumultuous life and crafted as tribute to original vocalist Dave Rubinstein (better known as Dave Insurgent), who tragically committed suicide in 1993 following the death of his mother and murder of his girlfriend Tiffany Bresciani whilst the pair battled severe heroin addiction, the material is further shrouded in misfortune due to the recent death in 2024 of founding guitarist Paul Bakija, who served as primary songwriter working tirelessly on the album for years. Hard-hitting, breakneck paced tracks with zero sign of aging or slowing down, new vocalist Madame St. Beatrice delivers snarling accounts combining rage and earnest concern to a project that many thought would never see the light of day and sadly, literally wouldn't until all original members involved had shifted off this mortal coil.

Review: Decades in the making, Volume 3 serves as the first new full-length from Queens, New York hardcore punk pioneers Reagan Youth since 1990. While their classic 1984 debut EP Youth Anthems For The New Order would later be reissued as Volume 1 complete with additional bonus tracks, Volume 2 would be distributed following the band's initial break up. Crafted and completed by founding guitarist Paul Bakija, before his tragic passing in 2024 following a battle with cancer, Volume 3 is a tribute and testament to the tumultuous life and times of original frontman Dave Rubinstein (better known as Dave Insurgent), who sadly took his own life in 1993 following the death of his mother and murder of his girlfriend Tiffany Bresciani, at which time the couple dealt with severe heroin addiction. Poured over with care from Bakija and led by the feral delivery of new vocalist Madame St. Beatrice, the project delivers breakneck paced, snarling accounts, combining anger and deep concern to a work that ultimately would only see the light of day after none of the original members integral to its make up could live to see it released.

Review: Rocket From The Crypt mastermind Speedo aka The Swami aka John Reis is a punk lifer troubadour unlike any other, who seemingly refuses to slow down with age. Returning with his second solo sull-length in just 8 months, following on from 2024's All Of This Awaits You, this time he casts a back-line including Jason Sinclair (Hot Snakes), Joey Guevara (Swami & The Bed Of Nails), Jacob Turnbloom (Mrs. Magician) and Glen Galloway (Truman's Water), to help concoct these 11 tracks of chaotic, hard-edged punk rock bangers delivered at a breakneck pace with fist-pumping hooks and a sincerely rebellious attitude to boot (stomp). Chock full of bangers like the feral 'Fed To The Dogs', at 55 years young, Reis is in no way content to rest on his laurels for long, always making Time To Let You Down.

Review: Skate-punk, crossover thrash, or best described as "Nardcore" (being part of the formative West Coast hardcore scene located near Oxnard, California), Rich Kids On LSD or often referred to as RKL, are widely considered to be one of the most important yet simultaneously overlooked acts of the formative 80s punk world. Their 1985 debut full-length Keep Laughing introduced the masses to their Beanie Boy mascot, but more importantly, their chaotic fusion of snot-nosed hardcore meets angsty skate punk, while later material would flex thrash metal riffage, marrying humour with elements of a genre already guilty of taking itself too seriously, leading them to become THAT punk band for Slayer and Metallica diehards who couldn't admit too freely to vibing on anything outside of metal. While later projects would see these metallic elements brought further to the forefront, the classic cuts boasted by this first effort such as 'Think Positive' (or 'Drink Positive' when played live), 'Ded Teds', and 'Pothead' are some of the most quintessential skate-punk anthems of all time. Easter Egg - Actor Josh Brolin claims to have been an early member before the band had even decided upon a moniker, which actually came in the form of a criticism lobbed at them during their early days.

Review: Recorded in 1992 but not officially released until 1995, Pope Adrian 37th Psychristiatric would serve as the third full-length album from London anarcho-punk underground legends Rudimentary Peni, and their first since 1988's acclaimed and unhinged Cacophony. With the majority of the material penned by primary songwriter/vocalist/guitarist Nick Blinko while sectioned in a psychiatric hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983, much of the lyrical subject matter details Blinko's delusions including the idea that he was "Pope Adrian 37th" - a reference to Pope Adrian IV. Pushing their chaotic abrasion even further leftfield than ever before with art-punk experiments into trance-inducing use of unsettling repetitions including the pseudo-Latinised phrase "Papas Adrianus" (Pope Adrian) looped continuously throughout the runtime, this macabre masterpiece has become a holy grail of outsider art and avant-punk, whilst being out of print for years. Remastered from the original tapes by Arthur Rizk and reissued by the committed souls at Sealed Records, who slowly appear to be repressing the entire RP back catalogue, make no mistake that with evident eagerness and hype within the core fanbase, these twisted beauties won't stay around long.