Search - Slapshot :: Sudden Death Overtime

Whatever happened

Josh | Chicago, IL United States | 06/16/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Margaret is right, this stuff is good. And the basement was ours, Club Blitz. Good times..."

Controversial and distinctly "Boston"

KH | United States | 11/10/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If "Step On It" was Slapshot's clarion call for a more militant brand of straightedge, Sudden Death Overtime was Slapshot's "FU" to pretty much anyone else found in their cross hairs including: poseur crews, hypocrites, the Bad Brains, MTV, the mainstream, druggies, punk rock culture and pretty much anyone else outside of Boston. Musically Sudden Death Overtime is a much more mature Slapshot release. Less punk sounding than previous efforts, the raucous Oi-inspired sing-along sentiment is still present but the guitar is heavier, more polished and reveals shades of what was happening in the NYC hardcore scene ala Judge and Sick Of It All. Thematically this record was (at the time of its release) just about as controversial as you could get. The "never compromise" straight edge mentality comes shining through, but Choke also manages to single-handedly antagonize every crew in NYC ("Get Me Out"), verbally assassinate a particular phony friend ("Dealing With Pennies"), trash Haile Selassie ("Firewalker") and threaten a notable heavy-hitter in the SxE scene ("Something to Prove"). Perhaps Choke's most scathing indictment on the record (and the one with the most far reaching consequences), was his attack on punk rock subculture ("Punk's Dead, You're Next"). With its sinister, grinding guitar, "Punk's Dead" was meant to both criticize and inspire violence. At a time when hardcore was still rooted in punk subculture (and when a band like The Exploited might share a bill with a band like Biohazard) this was tantamount to declaring open war. Fists flew and Doc Martens stomped, as the-way-of-the-mohawk was slowly snuffed out of the East Coast hardcore scene. This divorce, which Sudden Death Overtime provided the soundtrack for, has reverberated through the years.



As biting and as angry as anything hardcore music has ever produced, "Step On It" provides an interesting benchmark in the development of hardcore. A catchy, interesting, controversial Slapshot release.

"