CRO-MAGS

A large dose of bravery is required when re-recording an album as seminal as CRO-MAGS' "The Age Of Quarrel". But then, as has long been evident, Harley Flanagan is not a man prone to taking the easy route or settling for some cozy, compromise position. The NYC hardcore legends' beating heart and sizzling soul throughout their forty-plus years of existence, he has weathered many storms and navigated countless ups, downs, triumphs and calamities along the way. Now permanently at the helm, he has spent recent years restoring his band's good name and formidable reputation, and "Age Of Quarrel: 40 Years of Quarrel" is perhaps the most important part of that process. When CRO-MAGS' current lineup were asked to re-record a few songs from their debut for the soundtrack of documentary "Harley Flanagan: Wired For Chaos", the frontman realized that this was the perfect opportunity to recreate the entire record, thus enabling him and some former bandmates to finally get paid for the songs they wrote back in the early '80s. Put together by Flanagan, guitarist Doug Holland (who played on the original "Age…") and current six-stringer Rocky George, alongside members of modern hardcore luminaries TURNSTILE and RISE AGAINST, and SEPULTURA drummer Greyson Nekrutman, this new incarnation is both a celebration of one of hardcore music's greatest moments and an opportunity for some tiresome ghosts to be laid to rest.

While it probably needs saying that "Age Of Quarrel: 40 Years of Quarrel" is in no way an attempt to replace the original album, it is gratifying to hear that CRO-MAGS can still bust things up with the same energy and ferocity that made their debut so powerful 40 years ago. In classic hardcore terms, virtually nothing could surpass the original versions of these incendiary anthems, but these new versions come as close to reproducing the same levels of excitement. From the brutish and muscular likes of "We Gotta Know", "Malfunction" and "Seekers Of The Truth", to the short and startling, sub-two-minute adrenalin jolt of "Hard Times" and "Face The Facts", these are raw and rowdy updates, performed by musicians who absolutely know what they are doing and how best to honor the past. Arthur Rizk's production is perfect for the occasion: gritty and unfussy, but big enough to make your speakers bulge, it hammers home the timeless nature of the material, while presenting these songs for a new, younger audience that, perhaps, does not yet truly understand what a benchmark "The Age Of Quarrel" was back in 1986. For everyone else, this rips as hard as it should, Harley Flanagan remains a belligerent, grinning presence throughout, on bass and vocals, and a closing bonus of demo-era gem "Everyone's Gonna Die" provides this self-evident labor of love with an excellent, additional selling point. None more hardcore.