New York Hardest
"Vol.3 - Various Artists "
(Go Kart Records) 

This compilation, as the title suggests, features a collection of New York based hardcore, punk, and metal bands currently making waves, from ones of legendary status to newer, up and comers. Each band featured contributed two songs to the album, and there are no less than twenty four tracks, some of them quite short. Leading off the album are two metal/hardcore legends, none other than Agnostic Front and the mighty S.O.D. (featuring Scott Ian and Charlie Benante of Anthrax), respectively. Both their songs are very short, and the S.O.D. track, "Java Amigo", is a laugh! These two bands appear again later on the album, as well, with longer tracks, the Front with "Shadows", and the Stormtroopers with "Pathmark Song". We also have a couple of bands who are presently popular on the circuit, Ill Nino and the Step Kings. Ill Nino's contributions are "I Believe", which is very similar to Pantera's "Cowboys From Hell", with some Latin style percussion thrown in, and "Buscondo", a high speed thrasher sung in Spanish, while the Kings' featured songs are the pop-flavored "The Spy" and the harder "Other Side Story". Of the other bands featured on this album, we have Full Blown Chaos, a full blown death metal band, who are quite good; the All Boro Kings, who sound influenced by Suicidal Tendencies; Demonspeed, whose "Kill, Kill, Kill" actually has a bit of ska influence; Prevent Falls, who sound like a harder Green Day, their singer very similar to Billy Joe Armstrong; Inhuman, who pack a mean punch; Distance, who play basic, straightforward hardcore, although their song "In Arrears" (the last one on the album) leans a little bit in a commercial direction; and a couple of more metal-oriented bands, Home 33 and Day In The Life. All in all, an enjoyable collection of what the Big Apple has to offer these days.

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