When some foreign soldiers are invading my land, I'll be waiting with a rifle in hand! Patriot Action! Now!

VANGUARD - "HARD ROAD TO TRAVEL" ("Dim Records"; CD):

Damn it, this record was released back in 2008, so you see, it's already a little bit older, but as usual: I feel the need to review that record here finally, so fuck off if you think it's not new enough!!! If you already own this record, then you can see if your taste in and knowledge of music is on a high grade of understanding (what's the case if you're sharing my rating, I mean, what else;-)...), or not. If you don't own it already, then make sure that you follow any advice or order I'll give to you at the end of this review here. Ah, and again, you just can say "Thanx!" to "Dim Records" for releasing yet again another great American Oi! band. Thumbs up! VANGUARD are a relatively 'young' band hailing from out of North Carolina, so yeahr, Confederacy Oi!, haha;-). The guys in the band aren't that young any more, and that you can hear, 'cause they know how to play and how to write songs, and some of them were also once in the great American/Confederacy Oi! band of the name of ATF. They're playing here a fuckin' great harsh, heavy, and violent/militant American/Confederacy Oi! at it's best, that will hit and beat you down like the swing of a sledgehammer followed by a hit with a crowbar, to welcome you to reality, down on the cold concrete on that hard road called (real) life that there is to be travelled by each and every single one of us, with a pair of steeltoed boots waiting to be carried by you to carry and lead you on your way down that road. VANGUARD are do playing a very stand-alone and unique style of American Oi! Oi! music. Very hard and brutal, raw and rough, direct hitting you, leaving you a bloody mess. Marked very strong by the great, damn effective, bonecracking and dustdry guitar playing (great riffs, fine leads, damn good solos), a forceful bass work, very tight, hard, massive, and effective drumming, well thought-out in the songs involved crew shouts, and hard and very smart and charismatic, yet very well to understand vocals. Great!!! What I really like very much is the fact that they do very clever arrange the songs, good and well floating changes of the pace as well as the mood of the songs, no matter if you take song after song or take some a little bit more intense listenings to each single song 'alone'. Damn great!!! Maybe you can say, that if you like the YOUTH DEFENSE LEAGUE and OXBLOOD, then also VANGUARD will know to convince you. But they are more diverse, they vary their songs and songwriting a little bit more than OXBLOOD, and they are free of Hardcore and play the songs more and quicker down to the point with more dirt especially in the guitar playing than the YOUTH DEFENSE LEAGUE. Some newer bands you may can compare them with? Okay, also if you like COUNTERATTACK and/or TOTAL ANNIHILATION, then you really need to listen to VANGUARD. But they are a little bit faster and more elated than COUNTERATTACK, and they are not that much, not that strong guitar focussed than TOTAL ANNIHILATION. All four bands (YOUTH DEFENSE LEAGUE, OXBLOOD, COUNTERATTACK, and TOTAL ANNIHILATION) are total and pure gold, don't get me wrong, and VANGUARD also fit perfectly in that row. Somehow comparable to each single one of the mentioned bands, but with a very strong own identity, creating their own kind of spirit and atmosphere when it comes to their music, not being of copy of anything or anyone else. A really stand-alone and unique band!!! Great!!! And, what's great, no Hardcore influences in it (also I love Hardcore), no Metal crap to distort the songs, no catchy faggy so called Streetpunk flair to it to fit in some what-so-ever politically correct crowd, or mood, or scene, just pure Oi! music, and nothing less, maybe even something more. Just great!!! I really hope that VANGUARD will finally be back some soon future day, to what I know a new record of them is announced to be released still in 2010, so let us wish them the best for this proposition. So, back to this record: We do also get very, very good and strong lyrics that are covering a pretty wide distance of different topics (Working Class, Patriotism, Culture War, freedom, pride, historical issues and topics, Skinhead Way of Life topics, 'Fuck the Blues!' issues, and a lot more that waits to be discovered by you), all done very, very damn good, and then we do also get a great looking artwork, and a very fat, dirty and raw production sound that perfectly fits to the music of VANGUARD. Also their is this record out as an LP version, I think at least the colored copies were limited and should be already sold out long ago, and I can pretty much imagine that the artwork looks as an LP even damn greater than here at the CD version. So, no to my advice... no, no, no, my order to you: Buy it!!! American Oi! or Confederacy Oi! at it's best!!! So get it!!! If you still don't call it your own: Get it now!!! Cheers & Oi! (10 of 10 points)

(http://www.myspace.com/vanguardbcs)