This came out in 2003 – or at least that’s when I got it. Here’s what I said about it back then (with some minor editing):
It’s said that those who don’t learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. But there are also some folks out there who are smart enough to know their history — and gutsy enough to try to revisit the best bits of it.
Canadian street-punk combos Knucklehead and Riot 99 are two bands who know how to move forward by looking backward. For Calgary vets Knucklehead, it means channelling the scrappy, ragged-throated anthems of The Clash, Rancid and Bad Religion, then reconstructing the elements into seven short, sharp shots that smack you right between the eyes on their 16-minute EP Hostage Radio. For Toronto upstarts Riot 99, it means reviving the spiky Mohawks, sneered vocals and two-fisted Oi! style of U.K. crews like Cockney Rejects — and then turbocharging the whole affair with a impressive helping of Johnny Thunders-style guitar heroics. Too bad the no-talent they have keeping time just proves the age-old adage that a band is only as good as its drummer. That’s one lesson these boys would have done well to learn.
