Pulled out an oldie but a goodie today. The self-titled Debut LP (1987) from Life Sentence! Chi-town hardcore that at times reminds me of a blend of 7 Seconds & D.R.I. with a touch of Suicidal Tendencies on the guitar solos. And when I say solos, I mean brief blasts of seering fuzzed out guitar riffs … no wankery here! This is my favorite of their few releases. This record sounds like it was recorded at a VFW Hall while a herd of drunken teens were running around losing their minds.

There’s nothing subtle about this album, everything sounds hot & urgent. Even the skank-a-rific slower parts of “Race to Die” gets the adrenaline flowin’. “In the Streets” throws a few quick stop-starts at you & then the drums pummel you as if you were falling down a three story flight of stairs. “Punks for Profit” is another standout track, not just for the lyrical sentiment but the music starts out with a fists in the air stand-up & shout vibe and then whirls into a thrashing frenzy and back to the fists in the air and so on … it a brilliant 53 seconds which you should hear.

There are some other good tracks & then a few that are ok … but “In the Streets” “Punks for Profit” and “Race to Die” are three tracks that no midwest punk +/or hardcore comp should go without. Check ‘em out on MySpace … looks like there’s a reformation of the band hittin’ the clubs.

Life Sentence played on Radio