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Metal Assault in association with CWG Magazine presents

Track Listing: Death Or Jail The Divide Dominated A Month Of Sundays Braveheart Bent Outta Shape Lowest Common Denominator Good Cop Lifeline Watch It Burn Waiting For The Day Long As She's Standing Nobody Rules Dirty Money

It took me 40 minutes to break four guitar strings, blow out a tube, and grind my fingers raw. I've never pulled that off before in my decade swinging and strumming guitars, but that was before I played through a Sick Of It All album. Now that my finger tips are taped up, here's how it all happened.

After two decades of playing pit- pumping powerhouse hardcore punk rock, Sick Of It All retains relentless energy, which they fuse into each track on their ninth studio album. Released on April 20, 2010 by Century Media Records, Based On A True Story is a savage saga in Sick Of It All's history with lyrical themes ranging from the torment experienced by the worlds' forsaken sons in "Death or Jail" to the travesties of greed in "Dirty Money."

Featuring the same old punk sentiments the restless have come to feed off, Based On A True Story opens up like a powder keg on a short fuse and never lets up. With no song over three minutes, Sick Of It All continues to ride their latest wave of sound and energy we've heard since Yours Truly with their attitude we've seen since Blood, Sweat and No Tears.

With higher output amps and hell-raising humbuckers in his guitars, Pete Koller rips out some of his heaviest riffs yet in tracks like The Divide, Braveheart (a 45 second instrumental), and Lowest Common Denominator. True to his style, Koller still keeps his fret fingers moving from chord to chord as fast as possible, however, he has taken to a more modern interpretation of hardcore with his rhythm in tracks like Dominated chopping up the tempo while expertly toying with some new chords in his musical vocabulary.

Beckoning this maelstrom to life, drummer Armand Majidi and bassist Craig Ahead create an incredible wall of sound while mixing a wide variety of rhythms throughout the album. From slower tracks like "Waiting For the Day" that will remind you of their younger years, to heavier punk anthems like "Long As She's Standing," Majidi and Ahead pump out an overwhelming and dynamic beat with some great breakdowns

Also from the Koller clan, Lou behind the mic still screams every word while occasionally wailing like a banshee, especially on "Watch It Burn." His voice unleashes unrelenting assault at the gates of your ears.

Read the rest of the review here.